After years of hopscotching all over the place, the Oswego Senior Center finally got itself a permanent home three years ago.

In doing so, it also found a new name and a new mission.

Now known as the Oswegoland Senior and Community Center, the nonprofit moved into the former Oswego Police Department building on Route 34, with the goal of expanding its audience to all ages, including youth.

That vision will meet an important milestone on Friday when the center partners with 71 Reasons and More Foundation to host the first monthly Teen Game Night from 6 to 9 p.m. at the facility on Route 34 in Oswego.

Officials from both nonprofits consider this a match made in heaven.

After attempts to partner with several other youth groups “did not pan out,” said Oswegoland Senior and Community Center Executive Director Michele Bergeron, when 71 Reasons Vice Chair Deborah Lanzara walked into her office last year hoping to rent space for a garage sale fundraiser, it immediately became apparent “we needed to work together,” she said.

“It just all aligned so well.”

Lanzara agreed. “They wanted a younger crowd; we needed a place to go,” she told me on Tuesday. “It was a perfect fit.”

As you may recall from a previous column, 71 Reasons and More was created in response to the shocking 2021 suicide of Oswego East High School senior Mark Chapas Jr., a popular football and wrestling star who was also involved in his church and community and had plans to go into the United States Marine Corps after graduation.

The goal of this organization, named after Chapas’ football jersey number, is to promote mental health awareness and to establish a local safe house for teens struggling with depression and other forms of mental illness.

Since it formed in the summer of 2023, 71 Reasons has gone into high schools to speak, partnering with other groups like Bionic (Believe It Or Not I Care), and provided funding for scholarships, as well as for booster clubs that promote activities which give young people a place to go and a reason to be.

“But we were always looking for a place of our own,” said Lanzara.

As it turned out, when Oswegoland Senior and Community Center moved into the 23,000-square-foot building, it had space to spare – and share.

And so, on the last Friday of every month, the expansive lower level of the former police station will become a fun haven – there is no admission – for students in middle and high schools. Among the adult-supervised activities will be Xbox gaming, board games, Dungeons and Dragons mashups, bags, pinball, pickleball and much more, including music and plenty of food.

Funding for the game room came, in part, from a $3,000 Oswego Township grant for the center, as well as from 71 Reasons and More.

Lanzara is hoping for at least 50 teens at the first event. But as word gets out, she’s convinced those numbers over the coming months will grow, as will the frequency of the game nights. To register or for more information, go to the foundation’s website or call 630-596-3430.

Speaking of growth, after almost a year into its capital campaign, the Oswegoland Senior and Community Center has raised $1.7 million of its $2.2 million goal to renovate the old police station that, as former center president Wally Hamlin told me a couple years ago, “will redefine what a senior center” can be.

“So far, so good,” said Bergeron, noting that the organization is not only expanding its own senior activities and hours but also its partnerships with other groups looking for space and a common commitment to bring others together.

“We want this community center to be a safe place,” she insisted, “where people can be themselves and not feel alone.”

No matter what the age.

“Mark was always a person who inspired others through his selfless spirit,” said Lanzara, who knew the beloved teen as a neighbor and “like a big brother” to her children.

“So to honor his legacy, 71 Reasons and More will strive to make a profound impact and continue his remarkable work.”

dcrosby@tribpub.com