Press Release
The Boys and Girls Club of Carbon County needs the community to help keep its doors open. As it has expanded its services to include elementary school children and worked to renovate the building Carbon County has so generously allowed them to move into, the Club is finding itself in a position where it may have to close its doors unless the community can help.
The club is in need of $20,000 by the end of the year in order to remain open and serving the community. The Tony Basso Group and ETV 10 News have committed to step forward to assist the club and the community to meet this fundraising goal.
In the past year, the Boys and Girls Club has had 270 members sign up. Of those, 98 are 12 years and older, with 172 aged 11 or younger.
This school year, an average of 55 members attend daily, The highest attendance has been 70 kids in one day. These students are attending from Carbon High, Lighthouse High, Castle Heights, Creekview, Sally Mauro, Wellington, Mont Harmon Middle, Helper Middle, Pinnacle Canyon Academy, and several who are home schooled. Each child can be enrolled for $20 per year.
Cost to keep the doors open average approximately $22,000 per month or about $400 per member per month.
The Club does much more than keep students after school. They keep the kids involved with many programs that teach and improve their lives such as:
- Keystone & Torch Clubs- Adolescent and teen leadership programs designed to promote character and leadership qualities among Club teens and to provide awareness and impact in the areas of community service, academic success, career preparation and teen outreach. The program includes an assessment tool to ensure that the clubs offer high-quality opportunities for young leaders.
- Power Hour: Making Minutes Count– Educational program designed to help Club members ages 6-18 achieve academic success by providing homework help, tutoring and high-yield learning activities and encouraging members to become self-directed learners. Volunteers for this program are recruited through a partnership with the local United Way.
- SMART Girls/ Passport to Manhood– Small-group health, fitness, prevention/ education and self esteem enhancement programs designed to meet the needs of youth. SMART Girls helps girls explore their own and societal attitudes and values as they build skills for eating right, staying physically fit, getting good health care and developing positive relationships with peers and adults. Passport to Manhood represents a targeted effort to engage young men in discussions and activities that reinforce positive behavior. At our Club, we call this program “Wise Guys.” Both programs are designed with pre- and post- tests to ensure youth outcomes.
- Stay SMART/ SMART Kids- Programs within the SMART Moves framework which provide age-appropriate guidance on drug and pregnancy prevention. The SMART Moves program is a nationally-acclaimed prevention program incorporating the latest information and approaches for effective prevention. Participants are exposed to various activities designed to hone their decision-making and critical-thinking skills, as well as learn how to avoid and/or resist alcohol, tobacco, other drugs and premature sexual activity.
- Triple Play: A Game Plan for Mind, Body and Soul– Comprehensive health and wellness initiative, which challenges members to improve their overall health by teaching them healthy habits, good nutrition, and physical fitness; increase the number of hours per day they participate in physical fitness; and strengthen their ability to interact positively with others and engage in healthy relationships.
Looking at the high drug use and suicide rates in the Carbon County area, as a community we need to view the programs within the Boys and Girls Club as an integral part of a solution for the community to turn these issues around.
In tough economic times, the community has always rallied to dig deep when it needs to to make a difference. The Boys and Girls Club is counting on the citizens to again look at the positive impact the club has and keep the doors open and this community asset alive and well for the kids in our community.