When Frank Lovero and his friends were growing up in the Hopewell Valley, there was nowhere for a teenager to go and nothing for a teenager to do after 8 p.m.
For Lovero and his friends, there were two choices – go to a friend’s house or get into trouble.
That is, until Lovero discovered the Youth Warehouse at the Pennington Assemblies of God Church during his senior year at Hopewell Valley Central High School. He graduated in 2006.
Fast forward a few years, and Lovero returned home to become the youth pastor at the Pennington Assemblies of God Church and to volunteer with the Hopewell Valley Municipal Alliance.
The alliance’s goal is to prevent young people from falling victim to substance abuse by providing programs that help to steer them away from drugs and alcohol.
Lovero has participated in alliance events, including youth mental health first aid training; the “Screenagers” documentary, providing popcorn to about 500 attendees; and providing resources to parents during the Hopewell Valley Parenting Conference.
Lovero also finds time to lead the Youth Warehouse program at the Pennington Assemblies of God Church – and it is for that combination of activities and dedication to young people that he was honored by the alliance last week.
Lovero was named the Hopewell Valley Municipal Alliance Volunteer of the Year at the Hopewell Valley Mayors’ Breakfast, held at Capital Health Medical Center-Hopewell on Oct. 12.
“Frank knows the dangers of isolation,” Heide Kahme, the alliance coordinator, told the attendees at the event. The breakfast is one of many activities and programs sponsored by the alliance.
“To combat this isolation, he has grown a faith-based teen center known as the Youth Warehouse into a Mercer County-wide program,” Kahme said.
The teen youth center is based at the Pennington Assemblies of God Church.
The Youth Warehouse brings in teens from Ewing, Hopewell, Trenton, Lawrence and Hamilton to a safe environment where they are taught they have value, Kahme said. They are mentored by college students and young adults, she said.
“Frank has worked hard to cultivate a youth culture that celebrates diversity and communal encouragement,” Kahme said. “Due to his tireless work, he now serves a community of more than 75 students that range in age, race, gender or economic background.”
With a smile on his face, Lovero thanked the alliance for naming him as its Volunteer of the Year for 2018.
“It means a lot to me,” Lovero said of the honor, adding that the alliance “is truly a team effort.”
“We live in an angry world that is divided and angry and (people) are not willing to listen. Kids need a place to hang out,” he said.
If they do not have a place to go, he said, they are more likely to sit at home, which is not good because they won’t know to engage with others and deal with conflict.
That is where the Youth Warehouse fits in.
High school students attend “games night” at the Youth Warehouse on Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. Middle school students have their own “games night” on Friday from 7-9 p.m.
“They are happy to have a place to hang out,” he said. “We teach them basic communications skills. They need it. They need to learn to engage and deal with conflict.”
The students hang out, play group games, and then hear a short message, Lovero said. They break up into small groups where they can ask questions and talk about life. Then they get to hang out some more until it’s time to go home.
Summing it up, Lovero said volunteer service for him “is about coming back to the community and investing in the community that invested in me.”
