Social Centers

The most important factor in the success of a youth center
is, of course, the participation of young people in planning
and management. Here is something the teens can do them-
selves, with unobtrusive adult guidance. It is something to
build and to develop. Both making and using a center can
be fun.

The Teen-Age Club of Raleigh, North Carolina, is a pio-
neer. center which has been copied widely. Sponsored by
the Raleigh Recreation Committee, it originated at the
request of teen-age boys and girls. A junior board of direc-
tors governs it.

The center is in an old garage. Boys and girls presented
their plan to city clubs and raised money to pay 4 months’
rent in advance. They built a stairway, office, craft shop,
library and orchestra platform, now used by their own band.
They sanded floors, installed a soft drink bar and juke box,
and went to work on tables and chairs; it was a thorough
and handsome job of interior decoration. At the request of

the teens, a parents’ club provides chaperonage.

The Teen-Age Club does not stop at being a hangout.
Hayrides, swimming parties, junk parties, are organized; a
newspaper, ‘‘Tween-Teen Times,’’ is published at the club;

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