The players have changed, but the concept of the Boys & Girls Club of Saline County remains the same after 40 years in operation.
“It’s about the kids,” Execu-tive Director Jasen Kelly said as he and others involved with the club celebrate its 40th anniversary.
“I can’t believe we’re 40 years old,” he said, noting it’s the community’s support that has kept it running all these years.
Kelly has worked for the club since 1998. He served as program director and then interim director until he becoming executive director in February 2007.
Like many nonprofits in this economy, the Boys & Girls Club has lost federal funding this year, but Kelly said he remains hopeful that the community will pull together like it always has to support the club.
“Forty years of community support is phenomenal,” he said. “The continued support will be embraced.”
And he won’t let the lack of funding dampen the year-long 40th birthday party.
“We’re not going to have just one celebration,” he said. “All of our fundraisers and events this year will reflect the anniversary theme.”
The main events, including a golf tournament, gala and 5K, are held in the fall.
Every day at the club seems like one big celebration, however, with so much activity and energy coming from the hundreds of children and teens who call the club their second home.
Kelly provided a brief history of the club. Some of it comes from a history summary prepared in 1982 by Dr. Sam Taggart of Benton.
In the winter of 1968, “hardworking, dedicated city leaders forged a path to establish the Boys Club of Benton. The club first opened its doors in November of 1968 in the old City Water Works building. In only a few months, membership grew to nearly 200 boys with the primary activity being basketball.”
It wasn’t until Jan. 10, 1969, that the club’s board of directors was given a national charger as an autonomous member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
The founding members were Ed White; Jim Wright; T.S. Geurin; Mrs. L.B. White; Joe D. Powers; Ronald Stev-enson, then pastor of First Presbyterian Church; Jim McClintock, then police chief; Ned Richards; Garfield Williams; Joe Don Davis; Andrew Summerville; Wess Grant; Brooks Morris; W.K. Hannah; Hugh Crowson; Virgi Harris; Charlies Williams; Charles Cunning-ham, a current City Council member; John Freeman; Joe Purcell; and Dr. Quin Baber.
Losing $88,000 in federal funding this year isn’t the first time the club has seen hard times. During the early years, the club struggled with finances, inadequate gym space and a dilapidated facility, but it survived.
In the early 1970s, there was growth and the current location on Cox Street was donated with the stipulation that the club have the financing and backing to build a new building within two years. The building project began in 1975 and in the fall of 1978, the new facility opened its doors.
“After moving the club to the new facility, the programs mushroomed and the club became even more of an integral part of the community’s recreation and sporting program,” Kelly said.
During this time, the decision was made to accept girls for full membership, thus giving the club its title.
The club was closed in 1994 because of lack of funding and community support. “The void on the community was tremendous,” Kelly said. “In the early summer of that same year, the club re-opened with the re-energized leadership of the board of directors and support of the community.”
And within a year, a new gym, office and program space were built to accommodate the growing membership.
In early 1998, a new unit was opened at the Alexander Youth Services Center called Covenant Connections. The facility is still going strong today, Kelly noted.
Today, the club boasts a membership of more than 1,200, and more than 330 youths ages 6-18 attend the club daily. In addition, Kelly said, “We average nearly 1,000 youths in sports.”
The club offers tutoring, homework assistance, prevention programs, the arts, guitar and piano lessons, dance, gymnastics and recreation. Sports include basketball, soccer and flag football.
In charge of all the programs is Jill Johnson, who said the club seeks to provide children with a sense of belonging, competence, influence and usefulness.
Specific programs include Smart Moves, a comprehensive prevention program to help young people resist alcohol, tobacco and other substances; Character Ed, a program to teach character traits and how to live life as a well-rounded individual; and 21 Century Community Learning Center, which allows for homework intervention as deemed necessary by the students’ teachers.
There are many more programs to help enrich children’s lives and help them become responsible, productive adults. The club serves all type of children, Kelly noted, ranging from low-income to high-income families.
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