The VIBE Foundation raised more than $22,000 for its upcoming VIBE teen lounge Monday at a fundraiser in The Verge art gallery. The lounge, which is planned to open in June, will be run by, and for, teens.

It will be the first of its kind in the world, said VIBE Foundation President David Schenirer. Schenirer said the inspiration came two years ago when he realized that there is nothing for teenagers to do in Sacramento.

"We decided to open a teen lounge - a place where teens can go have fun and get resources," said the 18-year-old.

VIBE co-founder Julian Nagler, also 18, said the two of them visited many teen clubs in Sacramento and found a recurring problem.

"Teens don't want to go there," he said. "After those places opened, they lost touch. They didn't evolve like teens do." Nagler said that's why it is so important that VIBE is run by teenagers.

Schenirer said the lounge will not be a place where teens are babysat, but rather a place where they can experience new things. He said that VIBE will provide games, smoothies and coffee along with free tutoring and SAT preparations. VIBE will be a safe place for teens to hang out in Sacramento, Schenirer said.

"VIBE is whatever teens in Sacramento need," he said.

The buzz for VIBE has been growing, and many city leaders have jumped on board to help with the effort, including Dan Schiele, who works with the Sacramento Police Department and also is on the board for VIBE.

"It's an organization that strives to be run by its participants," Schiele said. "It could be a nice model for other agencies and cities. It's exciting."

VIBE also has the support of California State Senator Darrell Steinberg and Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn, who serves as the chairman of the VIBE board.

"It's a real milestone for Sacramento that high school kids are putting this together," Cohn said. "This is really being driven by the high schoolers."

While the plan for VIBE is unique and ambitious, a critical component for its success is funding. Schenirer and Naglar said they have already raised more than $300,000 in in-kind donations from people and businesses and need to raise an additional $78,000 in cash to help get the lounge started after Monday's event.

The event was hosted by Steinberg and featured five segments that focused on what teens did during each decade from the 1950s to the 2000s. Each segment featured a different celebrity host, which included Cohn, who hosted the 1960s portion, to Schenerir, who hosted the 2000s portion.

Each segment started with the host describing what it was like being a teenager during that time period and ended with a performance by local teenagers. The performances ranged from dancing to popular songs of the era, such as the 1970s hit "Last Dance," to musical performances of songs from the era, such as Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind," performed by Rio Americano High School senior Nathan Swedlow.

The fundraiser -- attended by about 200 people -- was both fun and helped increase awareness about the VIBE lounge opening. Many teens in attendance are anticipating the opening of VIBE.

"We need somewhere to hang out," said Rio Americano freshman Courtney Bigelow. "I'm really excited."

"It'll be a nice place to kick back and meet new people," added McClatchy senior Brett Chance.

Cohn said he was excited about the opening of the lounge and was very encouraged by the outcome of the fundraiser.

"When I see things like this, it makes me very optimistic about where our city is going," he said.

Photos by Tia Gemmell
Riverfront Media Photography
www.phototia.com

Photo Captions

1. The Next Generation Dancers perform to that 70's hit, "Last Dance"

2. VIBE President David Schenirer shares with the audience how challenging it is for teens today and how much they need a safe place to hang out - thus the creation of the midtown VIBE Youth Lounge.

3. The VIBE teens pose before performing in Good VIBErations, an event that raised over $23,000 for the VIBE Youth Lounge.

4. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg hosted Good VIBErations

5. Lyn Corbett of the Youth Development Department was the celebrity host for the 1980s segment