Small Town, Big Dream

Thanks to Oprah Winfrey, the children of Kosciusko, Miss., have a new reason to dream big.

Nestled along the historic Natchez Trace Parkway in the heart of the Southern delta, Kosciusko is a small town of 7,500 citizens, where high unemployment and poverty rates are part of everyday life. The community struggles with teenage pregnancy and juvenile delinquency. So who could step in to give the young people here a chance?

Enter Oprah Winfrey, TV talk show legend, media mogul – and Kosciusko’s most famous daughter. Following years of planning, Winfrey fulfilled her own dream of bringing a Boys & Girls Club to her hometown on Labor Day, Sept. 4, 2006.

Inspiring Future
Leaders The Oprah Winfrey Boys & Girls Club of Kosciusko and Attala County welcomed hundreds of children and community leaders amid much fanfare on opening day.

In dedicating the 32,000-sq. ft., $5.5 million facility, Winfrey discussed her own upbringing in the Mississippi town and the important role models in her life, including her grandmother and father. She told attendees the Club is there to provide vital guidance and support.

“[Children] will need inspirational leadership,” said Winfrey. “The adults and leaders here will have to instill a desire in them to make the most of their lives.”

Roxanne Spillett, president of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, shared these sentiments. “This wonderful new facility, along with the commitment of Oprah Winfrey, the community, board and staff behind it, will greatly expand the impact of the Club on this area,” she said. During the ceremony, Spillett presented Club staff with a $100,000 pass-through grant from the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs.

A Longtime Friend
Supporting Boys & Girls Clubs is nothing new for Oprah Winfrey. On her nationally syndicated show in 1997, she announced a college scholarship program in alliance with BGCA. The “World’s Largest Piggy Bank,” established by her Angel Network, collected donations from the public. Within a few months, the collection drive was so successful – raising some $3.5 million – that the program’s original intent to provide scholarships for the 50 state Youth of the Year winners in 1998 was expanded to cover all state Youth of Year winners through 2000.

Meanwhile, Winfrey met with community leaders at the home of her cousin, Katharine Carr Esters, in Kosciusko in 1998. She asked them what the community needed. Their response: a Boys & Girls Club, because the town’s future lies with its children.

A Club is Born
Three years later, with Winfrey’s support, a Boys & Girls Club opened in an old school building. BGCA provided training, technical assistance and organizational analysis. Almost immediately, 100 kids joined the Club.

It quickly became apparent to local leaders that the Club needed to expand its reach to children in surrounding communities. “Reaching out to kids from different schools around the area would allow us to serve a more diverse population,” says Kelvin McGruder, the Club’s chief professional officer. “Once we do that, we can better serve our community.”

After an exhaustive search for a suitable site, construction for a new building began in 2004.

Winfrey talks to kids about their Club.(above) The teen leadership room, the learning center, and the teen tech room are just a few of the Club's highlights.(below)

Construction Ups and Downs
As construction for the new facility began, many unique features began to take shape. Winfrey’s personal chef flew in to provide a consultation on how to build the Viking-equipped kitchen, and a world-renowned artist assembled a beautiful tile mosaic of the Club’s name near the entrance.

However, the construction wasn’t without setbacks. The winter of 2004-05 was rainy, causing many delays. When Hurricane Katrina hit a few months later, most labor went south to help rebuild devastated communities. Then, because building materials were in such high demand, costs went up.

In the meantime, membership at the temporary school-based Club grew at a steady pace. By the time the new facility was completed, 25 staff and some 400 young people stood ready to welcome their new Club.

A Grand Opening
On opening day, attendees marveled at the new facility’s features, such as the state-of-the-art computer lab, gymnasium and teen center. A garden was ready for kids to plant vegetables so they could learn healthy habits by cooking them in the kitchen. One of Winfrey’s many personal touches can be found in the Club’s reading room, which is stocked with works featured on her talk show’s book club.

Winfrey cautioned, however, that the Club needs to be maintained with great care. To sustain its operations, she donated an additional $1 million over the next 10 years. She then challenged the community to embrace the Club. “It’s not my center – it’s the dream I had for a center,” said Winfrey. “I want you to nurture it, support it, take care of it, lift it up in spirit and with your pocketbooks.”