After Hours begins it’s second year after the weekly activity gained massive popularity among students last year, with attendance doubling three weeks in a row late 2015.

The event held every Wednesday from 4:15 to 6 p.m. is funded by the Effie Center and staffed by Catalyst Teen Center volunteers. The event is sponsored by Assistant Principal Joe Grubbs, whom the Effie Center reached out to in order to organize After Hours. A late bus departs the event at 5:30 p.m. The event offers free games and activities to any students who attend; these games vary depending on student interest and the skill sets of the volunteers available.

“What makes this nice is that kids can immediately after school go there and have somewhere safe to hang out,” Grubbs said.

The event so far has been completely paid for by the Effie Center, including such games as Gaga Ball, pool, ping pong, and two gaming consoles that are available on stage. Attendance maxed out at roughly 100 students last year, with more and more students finding new friends at After Hours each week.

“I’d say I made close to 15 [friends],” junior Kennedy Trejo, a returning student to After Hours, said. “The staff is very welcoming as well.”

The staff members have contributed indispensable influence to the success of the event, actively working to involve everyone who comes to After Hours in the games. While one staff member might be inviting a shy student to join the next game of Gaga Ball, another is taking lessons from a student on how to play Magic: The Gathering. While the Teen Catalyst Center also organizes such events as Young Adult’s Hangout, Teen Nights, and other similar programs, many of the same volunteers have returned this year to After Hours.

“All of the teens we meet are interesting and have unique passions, talents, and purposes that I want to help them understand better,”  Catalyst director Tyler Schuetze said.