The Fuzion Teen Center in Mooresville

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Left: Local teens gather at Fuzion Teen Center. Middle: Executive Branch Director Sarah Allen, Vice President Nate Garrett, President Daniel Dye. Bottom: Mooresville PD stopped by to shoot some hoops at the center.

Teens have a place To call Their own aT wiTh reopened Fuzion Teen cenTer

Anyone who has been a teenager or is raising one currently, knows the teen years are equal parts exciting and challenging. The Fuzion Teen Center in Mooresville aims to provide teens a social meeting place and support so they can thrive socially, educationally, and spiritually as they navigate the delicate space between childhood and adulthood.

Founded in 2018 by the South Iredell Youth ministry network, a network of youth pastors in the Mooresville and surrounding areas, Fuzion reopened this spring after a hiatus during Covid-19. Their mission is to provide a safe environment that will become the central social hub for teens in Iredell county where they can develop socially and explore their faith in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere through strategic programming and semi-structured activities. Fuzion partners with churches, FeedNC, Food For Days, the Town of Mooresville, Youth Commission International and area schools to bring their mission to life.

Located in a former church in the Cascade area of Mooresville at 691 Brookwood Drive, the Fuzion Teen Center is open and free to all seventh to 12th-grade students on Mondays from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. At Fuzion, teens can hang out with friends, play sports, take classes like painting and baking, seek out tutoring, participate in bible study, and finish the evening with a home cooked meal. with their friends engaging in fun activities. They also love that they feel safe, and everyone is accepted.” She says that Fuzion is an inclusive and diverse environment with teens of all abilities who discover Fuzion through their school, youth groups, or their neighborhood.

The Fuzion Teen Center volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and skillsets such as business owners, an artist, a retired dentist, a chef, police officers and a landscaper. Allen says oftentimes they come to volunteer and may end up teaching a class, sharing their unique skills with the teens.

This summer, Fuzion will continue to be open on Mondays and they are hoping to offer activities on Saturdays as well. Allen says they would love to host a movie night, a cookout for teens and their families, a kickball game between the teens and volunteers, and a basketball tournament.

The Fuzion Teen Center recently co-hosted their first fundraiser so they can continue to grow and provide resources for teens in the community. Allen says she would love for the Fuzion Teen Center to be equipped with a recording studio, a greenhouse where the teens could grow vegetables to use in their cooking classes or bring home to their families, as well as workshop where teens could learn different trades. “We want our teens to experience different skills so they can make informed decisions about their future by the time they graduate from high school,” she says.