LYNN — Executives from the Boys & Girls Club celebrated the club’s fourth year of receiving $25,000 in funding from the Department of Conservation and Recreation for the department’s Teen Summer Nights program Monday.
Executive Director Brian Theirrien said the Summer Nights program provides programming such as basketball, swimming, soccer, movie nights, STEAM activities, college-readiness workshops, and community-service opportunities for teenagers on Mondays through Thursdays from 4 to 9 p.m. There are also special events on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
He said about 85 to 100 kids come to the program each day. It started June 24 and runs through Aug. 23.
The DCR Summer Nights program was launched in 2015 to provide young people between the ages of 13 and 21 in urban areas with the opportunity to join in on recreational and educational activities during evening hours, according to the Commonwealth’s website.
“They can just walk in and know that they can play basketball, they can hang out with friends… (and) be in a place that’s safe,” he said.
He said the program also strives to keep teens focused on their education while school is out during the summer with visits to local colleges and guest appearances from lecturers.
Theirrien added that receiving the grant to host the Summer Nights program has changed the organization. While the organization would be open until 9 p.m. during the summer previously anyways, it was unable to provide the extensive programming it can now offer.
He said the number of teens who come in at night to participate in the program is “pretty spectacular in the City of Lynn.”
“There’s some other things that they could be doing, right?” he said. “But we know that they are here.”
Theirrien said that the teens experience enriching activities and engage with good adult role models during the program.
