NORFOLK, Va. — Some Norfolk teens got a big surprise Tuesday afternoon: a $20,000 room makeover at the Southside Boys and Girls Club in Norfolk.
The nonprofit works to give teens a safe space to go – and they got quite the upgrade.
Carlie Shivers, the Keystone advisor of the Club's Players Club mentorship program, said before the makeover, the room didn’t have much.
“Before this room was considered the teen room, however, the only thing that was in here was a desk, we had one table, a two-seat love sofa, and a – I would say – about a 32 inch TV,” Shivers said.
Now, the room has two huge TVs, a massive stereo system, workspaces with laptops, arcade games, and the much-coveted Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.
“I think the guys when they come in, that’s going to be the first thing that lights up their face!” Shivers joked. “The children were gifted the money to run wild with their imagination and this means so much to the community and the teens.”
This room makeover is courtesy of the lease-to-own furniture company, Aaron’s.
Teams from Aaron’s brought everything in and got it all set up in 24 hours. Aaron’s regional manager Tim Bailey said the project is about giving back to the community and helping teens.
“Bring a positive spin and get the kids off the streets and get them going in the right direction. It’s been a lot of fun doing this," Bailey said.
“You know it’s already negative already with all the things going on out there and we try to have a good safe place, fun place to come. It’s someplace they would want to come.”
The teen room refresh is the 51st renovation project by Aaron's since 2015 as part of their national partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.