New center gives kids a place to have fun
By David Yarger
Tribune Editor
The North Tonawanda Youth Center had its grand opening on Saturday in front of numerous families and NT Mayor Arthur Pappas. The center, located at The Hope Center, 383 Vandervoort St., gave tours of the new facility and welcomed NT residents with popcorn, pizza and various activities.
"This is a very exciting day," Pappas said. "We're very happy and enthused about the opening of this youth center. A hope has come true, a dream has come true and we're very excited. The neighborhood has been very accepting and the programs are absolutely fantastic."
Youth coordinator, Alex Domaradzki said the center will be a, nice place for kids to stay busy and have some fun.
"We want to continue to build on what we've been doing for the past several years, give a nice, safe and clean space to give kids a place to come and hang out with friends and be productive with their free time.
"Kids can expect to be busy. We always have something for them to do. We have designated sports of the day, daily craft events, activities that get them going and team-building activities. It's just a good place for kids to get out of the house and come hang with friends, and parents can know they're in a safe spot being supervised and spending time wisely and efficiently," Domaradzki said.
The center features a lounge room, full sized gymnasium, multi-media room, which includes crafts, computer lab and video games, and a recreation room featuring air hockey, foosball, billiards and Ping-Pong tables. Specialized programs such as dance, cheer, self-defense classes, Girl Scouts, homework helpers, glee club, square dancing and culinary camps are also on tap for the fall/winter season. Participants must be residents of the North Tonawanda City School District to participate in programming.
Hours of operation are Tuesday-Thursdays, 4:30-6:30 p.m. (K-6 grade), 6:30-8:30 p.m. (7-12 grade); Fridays, 4:30-7 p.m. (K-6 grade), 6:30-9 p.m. (7-12 grade); and Saturdays, noon-4 p.m. (K-6 grade), 4-9 p.m. (7-12 grade).
