Business of the Week: Charles Chrin Community Center

Anyone claiming that there’s nothing to do or there’s no way to beat the heat this summer has obviously never been to the Charles Chrin Community Center. For if they had, they’d know that the place is brimming with activity for all ages (and, also noteworthy, completely air-conditioned).

The community center has an entire slate of programs for kids as young as one, all the way up to adults. Programs like:

• Ballet and tap dancing

• Outdoor soccer league

• Gymnastics

• Yoga

• Scrapbooking

• Summer day camp

• Preschool

• Zumba

• …And a whole lot more.

“Right now, Zumba is a big thing,” said center director Dan McKinney. “We have tremendous Zumba instructors.”

McKinney, who has been the center’s director for just over three years, went on to explain that Zumba fitness classes sometimes reach up to 150 people.

The Chrin Community Center sits on a 32-acre tract that was donated to Palmer Township by Charles Chrin. The center was built and opened in 2005.

The center, which can be seen from Route 22 and Route 33, is comprised of two gymnasiums and three program rooms. It also has community halls, a kitchen and a dining area that can be rented by organizations and businesses for meetings and functions.

The two gyms are used for a variety of programs, but are also made available for open-gym times, when kids can just visit the center to play basketball or other sports.

The center’s fitness center features several different types of workout equipment, from treadmills to stationary bikes to free weights. Membership prices to the fitness center alone are based on age and residency, although residents and non-residents can opt for a Fit Pass; for $40, the pass gives guests access to both the center and any fitness class for one month.

Right now the center is accepting registration for the 2011 Camp Palmer, its summer day camp program that runs every day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for kids ages 6 to 12. The camp lasts for 11 weeks throughout summer, each one with a different theme.

Each week includes arts and crafts, sports, gymnastics and a field trip. Week one (themed “Back to the Future”) starts June 20, and according to McKinney, registration is filling up fast.

The center employs about 25 different instructors and counselors for their various classes, preschool education and fitness groups.

“Our instructor and camp counselors are all experienced people… traditionally with education backgrounds,” assured McKinney. 

The Chrin Community Center is also a partner of the Palmer Township Athletic Association; all registration for sports teams is done through the community center, and some of the sports, like basketball, use the center’s gyms for practice.

“We’re very proud of our partnership with the athletic association,” said McKinney.

Registration for football, soccer and cheerleading are all currently wrapping up for the 2011 season.

Registration for any of the center’s programs, activities and athletic association sports can be done online through the center’s website, www.palmercommunitycenter.org/.

The Charles Chrin Community Center is at 4100 Green Pond Road and is easily accessible via the Hecktown Road exit of Route 33. The center is open Monday through Friday from 7am to 9pm, and weekends from 8am to 5pm. Closing hours are sometimes extended for particular programs and events.

Check out the center's website for a schedule of classes and groups, registration information, prices and policies.