Top: Alma kids are happy to finally have a Club of their own. Middle: Members check out a state-of-the-art technology lab. Bottom: The new Club's entrance stands ready to welcome the crowd. Preparing to Launch For Jo Ellen Garrett, watching some 300 local children attend Boys & Girls Clubs outside her community every day was troubling. "I thought we should have our own Club here," she says. "There were a lot more kids who needed a place to go after school, but they didn't have the means to get to those Clubs." Garrett lives in Alma, Ark., a rural town of 4,200. A recent study of Alma's community needs showed that approximately one third of youth from Alma and surrounding areas were estimated to be at or below poverty level. Local schools offered programs, but there were no year-round youth facilities. More than 75 percent of Alma's youth had no type of after-school activities available to them. Taking matters into her own hands, Garrett contacted Boys & Girls Clubs of America to ask how she could start a Club in her community. When she could not find a large enough facility, she explored ways to build one. She recruited local community leaders to become board members; together they raised enough money to purchase land for a 20,000-sq. ft. building. With the help of BGCA's architects, the new Club began to take shape. To finance construction, Garrett, now the Club's chief volunteer officer, and campaign manager Kelli Price held many fundraisers, including golf tournaments and an engraved brick program, which allowed donors to have personalized engraved bricks placed on the Club's sidewalk. Their next step was to hire an experienced chief professional officer. The new CPO, Dennis Waymire, had managed the Little Rock Air Force Base Boys & Girls Club for 10 years. He immediately began generating excitement about the new facility and, in the fall of 2005, started enrolling members at a temporary facility in a school. Within the first few months, 600 kids had signed up. The Club opened in grand style on July 14, 2006, to the pleasure of a crowd of 500. Its board, staff, community leaders and volunteers were all on hand to celebrate the new state-of-the-art Club, which boasts a large kitchen, technology lab and learning center, as well as a darkroom, stage, playing fields and tennis courts. In the month following the Club's opening, more than 400 new members joined. Its membership has now skyrocketed past its two-year goal of 1,000, and the facility currently serves more than 250 children daily. The Club has also implemented a host of core programs, with many more new initiatives on the horizon. CPO Waymire is energized by how much the Club has already begun making a difference in young lives. "To see the response from kids and teens, and know the impact our Club is having on them is wonderful," he says. "I hope that other small communities will see that a Club can be built in their town." back to top previous | page 2 | next