Another Boys and Girls Club worthy addition to community

Members of the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Thurston County have passed the hat and raised nearly $1 million to build a new club on Olympia?s west side.

It?s an outstanding start toward the ultimate goal of $5.95 million to erect a 20,000-square-foot club, complete with full-size gym, on the site of Garfield Elementary School.

It?s our hope that the public will respond favorably when they are asked to contribute to this worthwhile cause. Nothing is more important than getting youngsters off to a positive start in life and that?s the mission of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Thurston County.

The local organization got its start in this community a decade ago when auto dealer Steve Boone, Dr. Tony Agtarap (who was the national youth of the year in 1984), Ron Rants, who is in commercial real estate, and others first floated the idea of starting a club in South Sound. Tumwater School District officials jumped at the opportunity and an old bus barn adjacent to Tumwater High School was converted to South Sound?s first club. Rochester and Lacey followed, and a scaled-down version for middle school youth took root at Jefferson Middle School in Olympia three years ago.

The Lacey and Tumwater clubs are in 12,500 square feet of remodeled space. Tumwater serves about 190 school-age youngsters daily, while the Lacey club attracts kids from nearly every corner of North Thurston school district ? about 250 youngsters on a daily basis. While open to students from kindergarten through 12th grade, most of those who attend are between 7 and 12. They pay an annual membership fee (scholarships available) of $25.

The new Olympia club will be the first facility built from the ground up. ?We?re not going to borrow money for this project,? Rants said. ?We want to raise $4.5 million before we break ground.?

The location is ideal. West Olympia has a high concentration of youngsters who qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Up to 3,000 youngsters live in the vicinity and about 60 percent of them can easily walk or bicycle to the Garfield Elementary site, which the Olympia School District has agreed to lease to the club for $1 a year.

According to Rants, that lease arrangement will save the club about $600,000 to $700,000 ? money which can go directly into construction and programs.

The new club will have a game room, an education center and library, an art studio, a computer lab, the gymnasium, a teen center, a homework room, a kids cafe for healthy meals and snacks and a few offices for the five administrative staff members. The clubs operate on an annual budget of $1.7 million with 10 full-time staff members included in the total staff of 40.

It?s important to note that every day at every club, there is an hour of time set aside for youngsters to do their school homework. Surveys show that 75 percent of the kids have their homework completed when they leave the club for the day.

And here?s another impressive statistic. About 90 percent of club members graduate from high school. The local clubs are just beginning to track juvenile crime rates, drug and alcohol use, grades, attendance and whether club graduates are moving on to college.

?It?s all about serving kids,? said Lori Drummond, president of the board of directors.

?We think every kid can use more positive role models in their lives,? adds Joe Ingoglia, chief executive officer.

Outgoing board president Wayne Williams said he became a ?zealot? for the clubs after he took a tour. Williams said he saw the level of caring, the professionalism, the well-trained staff and came to understand that the club operates a program that has been successful in other communities across this country for more than 100 years. ?They are there for the kids,? Williams said.

Drummond said she was fortunate to grow up in a home where her mom was waiting with a healthy snack and homework help every day after school. ?I got involved when I saw these kids that didn?t have what I had when I was growing up. It hits you in your heart,? Drummond said.

She?s right.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Thurston County fills an incredible need in this community. It surrounds at-risk and other youngsters with positive role models in a safe and engaging atmosphere where they can play and have fun, but also do their school work, forge lasting friendships and mature into well-rounded and productive adults.

Raising $5 million in the next 18 months ? especially in this economy ? is a huge undertaking. But the mission and success of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Thurston County should persuade donors to reach deep so that thousands of kids can be put on a path to a successful life.

Source: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/01/06/1937768/another-boys-and-girls-club-worthy.html

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