Whitehall Township Public Library has a program that is just for teenagers called Teen Advisory Board - or TAB for short. Students in grades 7 through 12 can sign up for the TAB program at the library and become a part of a very active organization in their community.

The TAB group, which began in 2007, promotes and facilitates youth and teen programs, offers an opportunity to meet and get to know other local teens and helps teens develop and strengthen their leadership skills through volunteering with their peers and in their community. The group will work throughout the year presenting new ideas, planning, organizing and preparing for yearly events.

Each student involved in the program is given a role or designated assignment in order to facilitate an event. Monthly meetings are generally held on Saturday afternoons in the community room at the library. If there is an event the group is preparing for, there may be more meetings to help prepare for that event.

TAB members also assist with various library duties, and it can be recognized as an opportunity for the students to earn community service hours.

“It’s nice to offer children an opportunity to feel they are contributing to the community. It’s a safe environment where they can come and be themselves and feel a part of a great group of kids,” said Lorraine Santaliz, youth services librarian and TAB adviser at the library.

The TAB group had a busy year last year, designing a gingerbread house, organizing a Halloween party, hosting a carnival in the summer, helping out with the summer reading program and planning a fall festival, in addition to the group’s big project, which was creating snow people out of clear plastic drinking cups. In 2017, they made a reading igloo out of milk cartons.

To join the TAB group, any interested teen can fill out and submit an application that can be found either online at http://whitehall.lib.pa.us/kids-and-teens.html or at the library, 3700 Mechanicsville Road. Once an application is submitted, the student will then attend meetings and/or events as they occur. Once a student attends several meetings and helps to facilitate events, they are given a TAB T-shirt to wear for all TAB activities.

“The TAB program brings the library to the community and the schools through the students. We are proud of the TAB students for helping and promoting the library in the community. They work with young children and adults both to make WTPL an awesome library for all,” Patty Vahey, library director, said.

Membership is open throughout the year, as teens can join at any time. Activities and events are ongoing, even throughout the summer, so there is always a need for new members and participation.

This year, National Library Week begins April 7. In honor of the event, teens are invited to the library 1:30 p.m. April 6 for the group’s monthly meeting.