UnderGrounD moves to Sat.

MEEKER I A year ago this month, the Meeker Assembly of God opened the doors of the UnderGrounD to local youth in middle and high school. On Saturday, Feb. 25, they will celebrate their one-year anniversary with free pizza and random prize drawings.
The remodeled church basement is furnished with video games, pool tables, Foosball and food, and has been open each Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. with attendance averaging 25 students per week.
“Our purpose in this was to give kids a fun, safe environment to hang out when there weren’t other things for them to do,” said Pastor Aaron Zielinske. “After a whole year of being open on Friday nights we have realized that there are a lot of other things going on Friday night. Football games, basketball games, school dances, rec center movies in the summer, summer entertainment on the court house lawn, they are all on Friday nights.”
Since the goal of the UnderGrounD is to fill a gap for young people when there aren’t other activities going on, they’re changing to Saturday night as of this week.
“We aren’t looking to compete with other things going on, but to work together to provide more for the youth. So with much less going on Saturday night we feel that it would be a better option than Friday.”
The UnderGrounD will still be open from 7 to 10 p.m. and offer the same activities and entertainment.
Zielinske is pleased by the success of the endeavor, and by the community support they’ve received.
“The first year has been amazing,” Zielinske said. “Support from the community has been great. Ma Famiglia’s has donated pizza for us to sell in the cafe on the first weekend of every month, and Clarks’ donated a cheese dispenser for the nachos and soft pretzels, as well as the cheese for it. Several parents have approached us to say that if we ever need anything to just let them know and they’ll be glad to help out however they can.”
“It has been wonderful to see the community get behind it,” Zielinske added. “After a year I would say that it has been a success and we are looking forward to many more years of making a positive difference in the youth of Meeker.”