42 Main Street, Antrim, NH
instagram: avenueatc
Coordinator: Heidi Schultz
Avenue A Teen & Community Center began in 2007 as a community initiative to serve teens in the Monadnock Region and has been a program of The Grapevine Family & Community Resource Center ever since it started. Located at 42 Main Street in the Antrim Mill Buildings, Avenue A is a space where teens can be themselves and spend time with friends while taking advantage of everything we have to offer, which includes wifi, comfortable couches and chairs, free food and drinks, a pool and ping pong table, foosball, and many games, art supplies, activities and instruments.
For teens 1318 years old
Current programming for teens includes Friday night open hours (times may vary, but generally we are open from 6:309pm most Fridays), as well as tutoring services and college search and financial aid advice by appointment with the Coordinator. We also offer special events, community service opportunities, and field trips on occasion. Check the Avenue A facebook pages listed above for the most recent information on events and Friday night hours.
For Great Brook students
Avenue A Club runs during the school year, on Wednesdays, from school dismissal time to
4pm. Students meet the Coordinator at the main entrance of Great Brook School and escorts them to the Avenue A Teen & Community Center Space on Main Street. Kids can take the GBS late bus home, be picked up, or walk home if close by. Team building games in or outside, discussion on how the club should be managed and what kids want to do, free snacks and drinks, and free time to take advantage of the equipment and space are the mainstays of the Avenue A Club. We are also committed to providing community service opportunities, having outside facilitators work with the kids, and off site field trips as part of the club curriculum. Cost
is $5 per visit or $15 per month. Please let us know if this is a hardship, we would love to work with you! A registration form is available at The Grapevine or the GBS office, or email Avenue A. It must be completed and returned to The Grapevine or the GBS office in order for a child to participate. The first session is free.
Coming soon for Great Brook school students, is our new Community Service Club! Avenue
A and Great Brook School are collaborating to offer opportunities for GBS students to earn
community service hours, which is of strong interest to the school and to Avenue A, so that students may better serve their community, themselves and their world. More information available shortly!
Use our Space!
Avenue A is available as a community space for groups to use, for a nominal fee, which is agreed upon by the Coordinator and the group interested in using the space. Current groups that meet at Avenue A include Alcoholics Anonymous (Sundays at 6pm), Al Anon (Wednesdays at 6pm), Antrim Church of Christ (Sunday mornings), the band Tombstone Territory, the HOPE Committee (Antrim’s substance misuse and prevention committee), and Heard It Through The Grapevine Open Mic night, which is the first Thursday of every month at 7pm (all door and food/drink donations go directly to Avenue A). The space has also been used for training programs and celebrations, such as birthday parties, anniversaries, holiday parties, etc. The donation fee requested for
these types of events is typically $25 per hour. Groups with a direct mission of serving teens may be able to use the space at no cost. Contact Heidi Schultz for more details.
Involvement with the Community
Avenue A is not limited to the brick and mortar space of 42 Main Street. We are involved with all kinds of groups who are looking to make a difference in the community. Heidi Schultz, the Coordinator, is a part of Monadnock Community Hospital’s Be The Change substance misuse and behavioral health task force, the HOPE Committee Antrim’s substance misuse and prevention committee, and has trained in the practices of Restorative Justice, a new way of looking at youth crime that focuses on repairing harm to the victim instead of punitive consequences. (Through the Restorative Justice process, youth offenders are held accountable, develop empathy and make amends.) Avenue A also collaborates with groups that also value child development and
community building, such as Great Brook School, Antrim’s Brown Bag Coalition and Monadnock Roller Derby. Please contact Heidi if you would like to discuss your community group working with Avenue A.
Volunteers needed!
We are always looking for volunteers from the community to chaperone our open hours and to help with various clubs and initiatives. Volunteers are required to have a background check completed, with the cost covered by The Grapevine. Contact Heidi to learn more!
A special thank you goes out to the towns of Antrim, Bennington and Hancock for generously providing direct funding to Avenue A. We could not exist without you! A hearty thanks to Rick Fitzgerald, who organizes the Heard It Through The Grapevine open mic night, and to all of our volunteers and community members who donate time and dollars, so that Avenue A can exist.
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