Teen Center hosts seesaw marathon to raise money
A seesaw marathon to benefit the Washington Health System Teen Outreach Common Ground Teen Center kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday and will run through 4 p.m. Saturday.
The fundraiser will be held in an area adjacent to the teen center, 92 N. Main St. Washington.
The teen center lost more than 50% of its funding in September, and Mary Jo Podgurski, director, said it will be difficult to keep the center open without additional funds.
To raise funds, Teen Outreach Community Coordinator Amy Podgurski Gough and peer educator teens organized the marathon.
The Students Helping Others Committee of the Washington Health System Foundation and Teen Outreach Peer Education program collaborated to put on the fundraiser.
The handmade seesaw will be situated at the intersection of Main and Chestnut streets. Participants will pledge money to seesaw, and pairs will seesaw for 24 hours straight. So far, the marathon has 96 teen volunteers.
The event is BYOBC (Bring Your Own Butt Cushion).
The center is teen-driven, and the Outreach hires young people to run it. They are supervised by young adult alumni and Washington & Jefferson College students. The center hosts twice monthly events such as Rock the Vote, Art Night for the community, Games Night, and peer education, parent and youth programming.
Podgurski opened the center in 2008, and since then, it has served 2,500 teens and garnered more than 33,000 visits.
The teen center is asking people to donate, and donations of food also are being accepted. For more information, contact Amy Podgurski Gough on Facebook or call her at 724-222-2311.
To sign up to be a sponsor for the seesaw marathon, visit https://www.drmaryjopodgurski.com/see-saw.