Boys & Girls Club Blog

April 12, 2023

The Teen Center has had a busy couple of months! In February, we implemented a new program structure that includes some wonderful community partnerships. Teens have been visiting the Christine Ann Center on Mondays, where they had the opportunity to participate in a healthy relationships peer group. They also created art pieces representing healthy and safe relationships to display in the Christine Ann Center’s “Love Shouldn’t Hurt” art exhibit for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.

Our new “Try it Out” program allows teens to try a new activity each week. Teens have tried kickboxing at the Downtown Oshkosh YMCA, played pickleball, and experimented with an Around the World food box where they get to try 15 snacks from different countries. Some of the activities we’ll be doing next will include ax throwing, frisbee golf, and an escape room! Teens have really been enjoying the variety of activities and trying out things they never have before.

Another teen favorite is the Teen Cuisine program. Each week, our group went to the Downtown Oshkosh YMCA teaching kitchen, where we cooked a variety of delicious recipes. On Thursdays, teens explored different cultures and cooked a dish that represented the culture of focus. Cooking is definitely a teen favorite, and we are grateful to the Oshkosh YMCA for allowing us the use of their amazing space!

Other Thursday program rotations include yoga class at Inner Sun Yoga studio in Oshkosh, STEM activities with Club staff and a Teen Night once a month. Teen Nights are a fun opportunity, as the Club is open an hour later and teens can participate in themed programming and activities such as Murder Mystery Night, Harry Potter Night, Greek Decathlon Night, and much more.

Over the past few months, teens also went on college and career tours and completed volunteer experiences. Most recently, teens visited several UW campuses including River Falls, Eau Claire, Green Bay, and Stout. Teens learned more about careers by visiting the Oshkosh Animal Hospital, Oshkosh Fire Department, Eagle Plastics, and Oshkosh Corporation. College and career tours offer excellent opportunities for teens to explore options for post-high school and plan for their futures. Our teens enjoy finding ways to give back to the community and most recently they’ve spent time helping out at Solutions Recovery, Oshkosh Area Community Food Pantry, and Feeding America. Additionally, our teen leadership group, Keystone, conducted a food and hygiene drive and collected over 50 items that were donated to the Oshkosh Hope Fridge.

Looking forward, we are very excited to partner with Reach Counseling to provide sexual assault awareness and prevention programming on Denim Day. We are also excited to partner with Goodwill NCW to provide career preparation programming, including resume writing, making SMART goals, developing personal career plans, and expanding upon personal and professional skills in preparation for plans after graduation.

We look forward to continuing to partner with our community’s businesses and organizations, and are so grateful for all of the opportunities our teens have had to grow and try new things throughout Oshkosh!

Learn more about our Teen program here. You can also see photos from our recent programming on our Facebook page here.

Sydney Hall
Director of Teen Services