Bridging the Gap: Seniors and Teens compete at Bladensburg Xtreme Teens

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Xtreme teens went beyond their own age group on Wednesday, August 10 at the Bladensburg Community Center, when they hosted three senior homes from the area in a teens-versus-seniors Wii Bowling Tournament. Guests included seniors from Newton Green, Parkview, and Emerson House senior centers. The teenagers, many of whom attend Xtreme Teens and Safe Summer on a regular basis, not only played with the seniors, but served them barbeque food, along with the help of Bladensburg Community Center staff and several members of the Bladensburg city council, including the mayor himself. “We’re bridging the gap between seniors and youth, and it’s fun,” said Mayor Walter James, who often joins the seniors at their own in-house Wii competitions. Fourteen-year-old Diamantia Surdivant agreed with the mayor, saying that the event inspired him to visit the senior centers in the future. “It makes us combine with them,” he said, “so if they ever needed help with something…we would be there.” The event was eye-opening for the seniors as well. “It shows us that all kids are not bad,” said Virgil Smith, who lives at Parkview. “You have to see the ones with something on their minds and promote them, show them that someday, they’ll be looking back at some more kids.”