There was a great showing of community support at the Grand Opening of the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County’s new Garden Terrace Teen Center Friday, October 28th 2016. The new Teen Center was opened in response to a recent increase in Club teen membership. Click here to see photos.

The SLC Chamber of Commerce was present along with Boys & Girls Clubs supporters and Club members. Officially commencing with the ribbon cutting after a prayer by Reverend Mills at 5pm. In addition to business owners, Sgt. Matthew W. Woods and several Sheriff’s Officers and the Fort Pierce Police Chief Diane Hobley-Burney and staff were present. Police Chief Hobley- Burney even joined the Teens in a dance session of the wobble.

Teen Club members and staff provided tours of the facility in an open house setting. Teen Club members represented the Boys & Girls Club well as they spoke about some of the programs available such as culinary, education and the arts. In the music room, Nicole Ellis showcased a music video that she personally produced at her mixing station. Roniyah Johnson talked about the Business and Career Center where her and her peers have the opportunity to access computers, work on homework and projects and hone their resume skills. Roniyah also excitedly spoke about the Boys & Girls Clubs’ recent Teen Summit where she got to experience what it was like to be in an actual court room in the criminal justice program.

After touring the Teen Center, Philip Busch, a longtime supporter of Boys & Girls Clubs, took the opportunity to present the Club with a gift from the Peter W. Busch Foundation; $10,000 to further the Boys & Girls Clubs efforts in youth development.

The Club and staff have worked hard these past few months renovating this new space exclusively for teen programming located at 3104 Ave. K, Fort Pierce FL 34947, adjacent to the Williams Center and main Garden Terrace Unit and their effort is already paying off. It was clear at the Grand Opening that the Teens in the Garden Terrace Community are excited about this space. During the celebration additional Teens were in the kitchen prepping meals; others were in the art room talking about their new fashion design program and business plan to open their own “the Club” clothing line. And of course there were teens hanging out in the game room, playing X-Box.

This past summer it became very clear with over 150 registered teens at the Garden Terrace Unit that additional space was needed to accommodate the growing teen population. The Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County recognizes the importance of providing the teens of Fort Pierce with a dedicated safe, fun and exciting space to learn, play and excel. Therefore, the Garden Terrace Unit partnered with the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Pierce to make this Teen Center a reality. With the help of volunteers from Coca Cola Beverages, Kohl’s, and Enterprise Holdings, funding provided by the Children Services Council, Representative Larry Lee Jr. and other individual donors and materials provided by the Home Depot and Walmart Distribution Center and Transportation, the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County was able to renovate this space successfully, specifically around teen interests.