Youth Alternatives, Adagio Health, and UPMC Northwest have teamed up to bring an “Especially for Teens (and their Families)” event to the community on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Cranberry Mall. 

Adagio Health hosted a teen night along with Youth Alternatives’ Health Resource Center this past March with some success.

“We wanted to expand the teen night to make it available to more participants in a larger venue,” according to Kathy Smerkar, Adagio Health Office Manager.  The three agencies planned the event to be similar to the successful, long standing “Especially for Women” model that UPMC Northwest and Adagio Health use for their annual health and wellness event each October as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Free services and screenings will include a distracted driving simulator from PennDOT, vision screening offered by the Venango County Blind Association, and blood type testing provided by UPMC Northwest.  (Parental signature will be required for blood type testing).

There will be over 15 agencies available with information geared towards teenagers and their family members.  Games, prizes, and giveaways will be some of the highlights, and a free gift will be given to the first 100 teens. A light supper of pizza, chips, cookies and drinks will be provided to participants.

Pre-registration is not required but highly encouraged to allow for an accurate food count.  To register, please call Adagio Health at (814) 676-1811.

“There is so much information in our community that is important for our teens and their families to know. We are bringing all of that together in one place to help teens and their families navigate the sometimes confusing world of being a teen,” says Corinne Carbaugh, Health Resource Center Coordinator at Youth Alternatives. “We are hoping that this will become a yearly event,” the committee commented.

This article was published in the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce’s September 2019 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.