Boys & Girls Club: Breaking new ground to help kids in need

The mission of an organization can often become stagnant and mechanical rather than the driving force behind its work. We strive keep ours relevant and central in our daily efforts and long-term goals. The mission of the Boys & Girls Club is to empower all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, caring citizens. Our mission has a critical clause “especially those who need us most.”

Over the past several years, we have been planning to grow and expand our clubs. As we strategized this growth in service, our board asked one critical question: Where in our community can we intentionally serve those youth who need us most?

After visiting with regional partners, we found that the most critical need is in a six-block area in Kennewick near Olympia and Tenth. In this neighborhood, over 900 children and teens are facing great challenges, including poverty, chronic absenteeism, food and housing insecurity, and increased crime.

Regardless of the circumstances these youth have to overcome, we also know that they have the potential to be productive, responsible and caring citizens. All it takes is a community willing to support and encourage them on their way to greatness!

Four years ago, a group of community leaders came together with a vision of bringing a Boys & Girls Club to this neighborhood to be a support to families and youth. In July, the Great Futures TRI-CITIES! Campaign began with a quiet and intentional effort to raise funds to build a home away from home for youth in our community.

An initial goal was set to raise $4.3 million in 93 days 93 days! The amazing generosity of our community created countless stories during this time, yet the end result was a celebration on Oct. 21 when this goal was exceeded.

Great Futures TRI-CITIES! has a goal of $5.1 million and we are committed to pushing past that to support other critical project enhancements for our community. Where are we now? It is worth visiting greatfuturestc.org for a recent update to the project.

We are set to break ground on the project this spring and intend to complete construction by December 2018. This aggressive timeline from start of campaign to building completion is a testament to the generosity and leadership within our community. It is also a testament to the power of bold visions and advocacy for kids.

The Clubhouse will be 23,000 square feet and include a full gym, games room, teen center, learning center and additional program spaces to serve the needs of youth and inspire them to greatness. It will be filled with caring adult staff and mentors who are willing to walk alongside youth through the challenges of life, and impart wisdom, understanding, and patience as they navigate these critical years. It will be a building that represents hope, and a place where lives are changed.

General Colin Powell, a Boys & Girls Club alumni, once observed, “When I see the construction of a Boys & Girls Club and all the steel, the cinderblock work, electrical work, and AC work that goes into building a Club, I think to myself it takes about this much work to build a jail. And that is something we have been doing far too much of in recent years... We need to stop building jails and get back to what we know how to do as Americans, and that is to build our children.”

Thank you to the Tri-Cities for investing in building our children. This Clubhouse has been a dream for us, but our generous community has made it a reality. You empower us so that we can empower our kids!

Please visit www.greatfuturestc.org to get an update on our campaign, and we would love your consideration of an investment as well. Great Futures Start HERE, and thanks to our you, Great Futures Start NOW!

This story was originally published April 2, 2018 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Boys & Girls Club: Breaking new ground to help kids in need."