Xtreme Game Night mixes fun with the future

Students involved with the Batteries Included Youth Initiative are grateful for the program that gives them access to career and professional development.

Now they want more young people around the valley to get involved.

Offering a glimpse of some of the fun activities the program puts on year-round, Batteries Included is hosting its fourth annual Xtreme Game Night from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Cimarron Rose Community Center, 5591 N. Cimarron Road.

Valley teens ages 13 to 18 are welcome at the free event.

Whether it‘s a giant hamster wheel, foam pit, laser tag, dodge ball or even a dunk tank — students can dunk their advisers — there are plenty of games to choose from.

"I‘m excited for the game truck," says Billy Johnson, a 15-year-old sophomore at Cimarron-Memorial High School. "I think I‘m going to be there all night."

The event also includes raffles and prizes.

Though it is a fun event, Xtreme Game Night serves as a recruitment tool and promotion for the Batteries Included program, which is a collaborative effort involving the city of Las Vegas, Clark County School District, the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach, and Nevada Partners.

Sheena Judie-Mitchell, program coordinator for Batteries Included, says it was created as a way to give youths access to career and leadership development.

"This helps them get integrated into society after they leave high school," she says.

Programs like this also help to combat juvenile delinquency by giving youths an after-school and summer alternative, Judie-Mitchell adds.

Through the program students are given a chance to work or volunteer, accumulating community service hours anywhere from the Las Vegas Rescue Mission to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children.

Other leadership development activities might include presentations from the Southern Nevada Health District, which talks to youths about anything from avoiding risks of teen pregnancy to healthy behaviors.

At the same time, the teens, representing a diverse group of students from Clark County, also raise awareness of adults to issues affecting young people.

Judie-Mitchell notes that when the program started in 2010, it was only in community centers. But as it developed, it focused more on high school-aged students and became clubs at various schools, including Cimarron-Memorial, Legacy and Rancho high schools as well as Las Vegas Academy.

The organization wants to add more schools, but must find advisers to help run the clubs, she says.

Though clubs have academic advisers to help students, the teens play the leading role.

In the past year, Batteries Included has attracted teens such as Michelle Burgos, a 17-year-old senior at Rancho High School who started coming to the program when they had an event and handed out a free sweatshirt.

"But then I heard the program can help with looking for scholarships, so that was interesting to me," she adds.

Kimberly Figueroa, an 18-year-old who graduated from Cimarron-Memorial this year, first came because of the free food. Along the way, the group helped her identify college and career goals. She plans to attend the College of Southern Nevada this fall.

Carlo Quesada, a 17-year-old senior at Rancho, joined when a friend showed him a flier about the program.

No matter the reason, they are all glad they found the program.

"It has become a second family," Quesada says.

If it weren‘t for Batteries Included, many teens say they would be sitting at home, bored with life and watching too much television.

"I wouldn‘t have a job," says Stephanie Johns, a 17-year-old senior at Rancho who was able to gain part-time employment at City Hall through the program.

Quesada and Figueroa, who work at City Hall helping with clerical duties alongside Johns, also help out at West Preparatory Academy promoting science, technology, engineering and math to elementary students.

The high school students say they have developed good skills, such as being able to speak in public and time management.

Johns says she was a shy person before entering the program, which pushed her to try things outside her comfort zone.

"It has helped boost my confidence with speaking," she says.

The city says it will continue to host events such as Xtreme Game Night to make more teens aware of the program.

"This way they can have fun while they learn about our program," Judie-Mitchell says, noting there were more than 100 participants in the past year.

"I never know what to expect for a turnout,’ she says. "We canvass and try to hand out fliers to spread the word."

But word of mouth remains a major force in promoting Batteries Included to other teens.

"I‘ve told all my friends," Johns says. "Though most of my friends are already in the program."

Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.