Sep 20, 2007 11:00 pm US/Eastern
New PAL Center Opens In Philadelphia
by Lesley Van Arsdall
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
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The new 4300 square feet PAL center in Hunting Park will accommodate 2,000 kids.
CBS
There's a new PAL Center for kids in Philadelphia's Hunting Park neighborhood. The state-of-the-art facility is the first ground-up Police Athletic League center in 60 years.
"I'm so excited," Desiree Rodriguez said.
The new multi-million dollar Police Athletic League center at 10th and Pike Streets drew a lot of excitement.
The 4,300 square feet building will accommodate 2,000 kids. The first floor houses a gym, exercise, computer, and game room. The second floor is dedicated to squash.
The police officers who volunteer so much of their time at the center hope it will inspire positive change in the neighborhood.
"We are exposing them to so many opportunities that they wouldn't otherwise have. But even more important than that we're keeping them off the street. We're keeping them safe and it's entirely free," PAL Commanding Officer Lt. Susan Slawson said.
The building is entirely funded by Philanthropist Chase Lenfest, who picked the location based on statistics showing the area suffers from a high number of juvenile drug arrests and low graduation rates.
"It's very dangerous and less than 50 percent make it to the 10th grade, let alone graduate high school. And so this is just an area I thought was great for these kids to be able to have a place where they can gain confidence, feel safe and get away from the streets," Lenfest said.
The center will open its doors to children on Monday but some got a sneak peek on Thursday.
"They've got games and it's nice in there. Kids can go in there and play. They don't have to worry about being on the streets. You can go and do your homework and everything," Janine Zamichily said.
The new PAL center is twice the size of the old center which is less than a mile away.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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