About

The mission of the Augusta Teen Center is to serve teenagers, many of whom are disadvantaged. We provide caring adults in a safe place where adolescents can learn marketable skills and healthy living habits, and have opportunities to give back to the community. We offer strength-based community youth development services and activities, including truancy prevention, arts, recreation, nutrition/wellness activities, and pre-vocational training, that increase developmental assets, community engagement, and academic success for local students. We are the only organization in the Augusta area that provides free after school programming for at-risk, low-income (83% of our clients are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals), and low-performing teenagers.

Beyond our after school programming, we offer a Summer Program that engages youth in new experiences to help them grow in this largely unstructured season; an Outside the Box Nutrition Program that challenges each teen to think beyond the typical boxed food options, teaching them about proper nutrition and how to prepare a healthy meal from scratch; a Teen Leadership Program; and our two restorative programs that help youth learn from their mistakes before they find themselves in serious difficulties - our Alternative to Suspension (A2S) and Diversion to Assets initiatives.

We envision and work toward a community where adolescents are viewed as contributors to the well-being of an age-integrated community, in partnership with the Cony and Gardiner School Systems, the City of Augusta, the Augusta Police Department, and other dedicated partners.