November 2, 2006 Issue                                       

Click Here

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Teenagers, Inc: 10 years of fun for Hill area kids
by PAULA M. RILEY

Marianne (back, left) goes white water rafting on the Lehigh River with members of Teenagers, Inc., in 2004.

This is the fourth in a new series of articles by Chestnut Hill writer Paula M. Riley. Each week Riley will profile a business, community or educational leader.

Marianne Dwyer is wiping her hands, trying to get the black oil off her skin. She has just spent the last hour cleaning out the oil lamps for Teenagers, Inc.’s annual Ghost Walk. Though this task is not spelled out in her job description, it is one of the many miscellaneous duties that come with running Teenagers, Inc.

Teenagers, Inc. is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. It was the idea of Chestnut Hill residents Dick and Jane Becker, retired schoolteachers, to begin a program for local teenagers. They believed that while Chestnut Hill had the Senior Center for seniors and the Water Tower for younger kids, there was not much for teenagers. A small group of volunteers began organizing social activities for teens, calling themselves Teenagers, Inc.

Dwyer, who has served as the director of Teenagers, Inc. for the past nine years, has been involved since its inception. She started on the small team of volunteers and helped run the first dance, night walk in the Wissahickon and hot dog roast. During that first year, much time was spent developing the mission of Teenagers, Inc. that was expanded to include social programs, leadership training, community service and workshops for teenagers. CHCA agreed to fund a part-time director, and Dwyer was approached about the job.

Marianne Dwyer (center) with Teenagers, Inc. volunteers at a Pastorius Park cleanup on Earth Day, 2003.

“I’m not sure anyone else wanted it,” she says with her booming laugh. She knew she certainly did. As the mother of seven children, two of whom were teenagers at the time, she recognized the need to provide programs for kids during their teen years.

Dwyer started her paid role as director in September of 1997, each year adding new programs and community service opportunities. “The first five years of Teenagers, Inc. we ran on a shoestring budget,” Dwyer recalls. CHCA cut back funding, and Dwyer, with help from the adult board of Teenagers, Inc., began running solicitation appeals, applying for grants and doing whatever they could to keep the programs running. Although Dwyer was not paid for her services for a few years during this period, her commitment never waned.

She estimates that over the years she has, on average, spent between 30 – 32 hours a week planning and executing Teenagers, Inc. programs, even though her salary is based on a part-time (20 hours) role. She cannot help dedicating so much energy and time to the teens. “I absolutely love the kids. They have tremendous energy and good initiative, and if you give them the opportunities, they really respond.”

Establishing a Teenagers, Inc. Teen Board was Dwyer’s idea. She wanted to give the teens a strong sense of ownership over Teenagers, Inc. and provide concrete leadership opportunities. Todd L. Perry II, Teen Board co-president, enjoys this freedom and responsibility. “Mrs. Dwyer gives us the chance to do the activities and the community service that we like to do. She always listens and lets us just go with them.”

Perry, who lives in Mt. Airy and is in his senior year at Roman Catholic High School, has been participating in Teenagers, Inc. since he was in junior high. Like many of the involved students, he lives outside of Chestnut Hill but is drawn to Teenagers, Inc. activities and the Teen Center on Bethlehem Pike. Teenagers, Inc. draws kids from Mt. Airy, Germantown, Roxborough and Chestnut Hill and their public, private and parochial schools. This is just as Dwyer hoped would occur. “Teenagers, Inc. is a great opportunity to meet kids from other backgrounds, faiths, schools and neighborhoods,” she said.

For Dwyer personally, her relationships with them are what give her the greatest satisfaction. She explains, “I’ve met the best kids — kids I would never have known otherwise. You end up counseling these kids, assisting them with problems, helping them with college choices, and you become close friends. When I get letters from kids, it hits home for me how I have helped them.”

Much more print space is needed to capture all the programs sponsored by Teenagers, Inc. One of the less publicized includes their tutoring program. This peer-to-peer program, held in the Teen Center, is delivered by high school students and offered to grade school children who cannot afford tutoring. Teenagers, Inc. also establishes mentoring relationships between teens and adults in the community.

Dwyer described the teens’ community service: “Our teens touch the fabric of our community more so than any other group. We are the first ones to be called whenever there is a need. I can’t say we can always fill it, but I do my best to fill the needs with our (Teenagers, Inc.) kids.” Dwyer has organized community service activities such as providing assistance with CHCA activities, recycling collections at Wyndmoor Train Station, organizing park clean-ups of Buckley, Water Tower and Pastorius Park, assisting the Senior Center with book sales, helping the Northwest Interfaith Hospitality Network host homeless families and hosting the annual Ghost Walk.

Mixed with all the service are a variety of social culture events for teens including dances, music fests, ski trips, trips to New York City, white water rafting, and weekend nights socializing at the Teen Center. Over the years, Dwyer has also facilitated workshops and programs addressing relevant topics such as alcohol abuse, smoking cessation, skin care and make-up use, job interviewing skills and conflict mediation. Throughout the course of some years, Dwyer has had as many as 1,000 teens participating in community service, social programs and workshops.

To fund all these activities, Teenagers, Inc. relies on their annual fundraiser, “The Taste of Chestnut Hill.” This annual dinner that features food from a variety of local restaurants and a silent auction will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 19, at Springside School.

As Dwyer reflects on her nine years, she says, “People never thought Teenagers, Inc. would last this long. We’ve proven them wrong.”

To learn more about “Taste of Chestnut Hill” or Teenagers, Inc., contact Mrs. Marianne Dwyer at 215-242-4976.