The Prexie Center: After-school program offers welcoming spot for kids
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Prexie Center volunteer Tom Kwiatkowski, chats with student Bre’Yonna Stewart as she grabs a dinner and beverage at the center.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Alex Nelson, left, plays chess with Pastor Lem Woodson of Champion Christian Center, right, while Michael McGinnis, center, looks on at The Prexie Center.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Wash High junior Gabby Hale, left, and senior Maria Sobocinski play Connect Four at The Prexie Center, an after-school space for students in grades eight through 12 at Washington High School.
Patricia Cherry, left, and Marsha Pleta, co-founders of The Prexie Center
The Prexie Center, an after-school space at Wash High, has several amenities available for the teens who visit the center, including video games, board games, a pool table, air hockey, and more. The center, which is open two days a week, also offers a variety of activities and classes.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Tyler Myers, left, plays a game of pool with Pastor Lem Woodson, youth pastor at Champion Christian Church at The Prexie Center, located inside Washington High School, on a recent Tuesday.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Prexie Center co-founder Marsha Pleta, right, chats with Wash High senior Tearsa Smith at the center. The center is open after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Prexie Center, an after-school place for Wash High students in grades eight through 12, celebrated National Popcorn Day with a variety of popcorns that the kids sampled last week. From left are Carliyah Walden, Jacob Lenhart and Simone Ivery.
It’s a gloomy Tuesday afternoon, but inside The Prexie Center, a free after-school program at Washington High School, the mood is cheerful.
“Hey, my man, good to see you!” says volunteer Tom Kwiatkowsi, who welcomes each teen and hands them a beverage as they move through a line and grab a hot dinner of stuffed paninis, green beans, and fruit.
The center, open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, provides hot meals and snacks, and much more.
There, students can relax on couches and chairs, study and do homework at tables, shoot pool or play air hockey, play chess and board games, read a book, work on their video game skills in a lounge area, or just hang out and socialize with friends.
On this Tuesday, two Wash High students sang along to Meghan Trainor’s catchy “Made You Look” while they played a life-sized Connect Four game.
Another teen, holding a rook, mulled making a move while playing a game of chess with Pastor Lem Woodson, a youth pastor at Champion Christian Center.
Others worked on homework assignments.
The Prexie Center opened its doors Sept. 9, 2021. It was founded by Marsha Pleta, a longtime member of the Washington School Board, and Patricia Cherry, co-pastor of New Dominion Birth Kingdom Ministries, who envisioned a welcoming after-school spot for kids.
“Our kids need a safe place, and I was thinking about this idea for about eight years; what can we do to help these kids?” said Pleta.
It turned out that the answer was in plain sight – a little-used media center at the high school that included a kitchen and freezer.
With funding from Cherry’s church (The Prexie Center is not affiliated with Washington School District), Pleta and Cherry got to work, turning the space into an area that meets the needs of students.
The center includes a kitchen, a pantry filled with food, snacks and personal hygiene items; washers, dryers and laundry detergent for students to wash clothes; and access to showers, along with towels, washcloths and soap.
Special programs and classes are offered throughout the year, including movie nights, crafting, painting, cooking, crocheting, etiquette and self-defense courses, exercise and strength training, and karaoke. Local youth pastors lead optional spiritual talks to end the day.
Attendance ranges between 30 and 70 students in grades eight through 12, and the center is open from 3 to 6 p.m.
The Prexie Center is staffed with about nine volunteers who, along with Pleta and Cherry, mingle among the kids, cheering their accomplishments and offering support and encouragement.
“We have seen (the kids) come together as friends, talking to each other, getting to know each other,” said Cherry. “I really feel so happy to be here. I’m enjoying getting to know the young men and ladies. We’re here for them if they need to talk, if something comes up.”
Kwiatkowski, who is retired, is heading into his second year of volunteering at The Prexie Center. He has volunteered at nonprofits throughout his life, and finds himself inspired by the high energy and positivity that fills the center.
“I really enjoy being with the young people. I want to be able to set an example for them, make sure they learn a little bit about how adults should act,” said Kwiatkowski. “I love the kids. I enjoy getting to know them. But it’s not so much about my enjoyment – if I can put a smile on one kid’s face, make one kid happy, that’s why I’m here.”
Senior Tyler Myers is a frequent visitor at the center.
“I like The Prexie Center because I get to hang out with all my friends, because I never get to see them half the day when I’m at Western Area Career and Technology Center,” said Myers. “We get some good food made by Miss Sandy Thomas, (Washington School District police Chief Carmine) Molinaro comes by, Pastor Lem hangs out with me. It’s fun.”
This year, funding for the center is being provided by D&M Painting of Washington.
Local businesses regularly donate snacks and supplies.
Budd Baer recently donated a car that the teens use to learn about car care and maintenance, and Pleta – emphasizing the importance of students getting driver’s licenses and having access to cars to get to work and school – aims to add a driver’s education program.
At Christmas, Pleta and Cherry opened a “store,” where kids were able to choose blankets, pillows, clothes, shoes, and other items that had been donated.
Pleta is planning a day trip to Presque Isle in June for Prexie Center students who meet attendance and academic requirements.
Woodson said The Prexie Center is “absolutely essential.”
“These kids get community outside of the normal school day. They get to be around each other, and we get to be in here and be around them, mentor, show them some love,” said Woodson. “I wouldn’t call it a refuge, but that’s exactly what it is. It’s a refuge and a nice place for fellowship, and that’s great.”
The center welcomes all students – whether they drop in after sports practice or extracurricular activities, or if they stay all three hours because there is no adult at home after school.
“I want these kids to know that there’s a big, beautiful world out there and it’s open for them. I tell them, ‘You define your future, you get to choose. There are people who want to help you and all you have to do is reach up get yourself out there,'” said Pleta.
Pleta said she was worried that no teens would show up when The Prexie Center opened its doors.
“The first time, we had 24 students come, and we’ve just grown from there,” said Pleta. “I adore these kids. I want them to have futures, I want them to have hope. Let’s just give kids hope for their future.”