Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County – Investing in Tomorrow

“DURANGO, Colo. – It’s raucous. It’s deafening. It’s frenetic. It’s kids doing what they do best – being kids.

The new Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County is now open for business.

“Why a Boys & Girls Club? I would answer that ‘Why not?’” said Vaughn Morris, director of the club (or CPO – Chief Play Officer) that has found its home in the old Armory Building next to the Durango Community Recreation Center. “To have a safe place to go where there are adult role models all the time – I think it’s imperative to a kid’s success.”

“The kids can have fun here. It’s a place for them to call home,” said Board President Peter Marshall. “It’s just enough structure with a great staff, and they have fun with the kids. And through fun the kids are learning.”

Boys & Girls Club is a national organization that was first established in Connecticut in 1860. Currently more than 4,000 clubs are located in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, The Virgin Islands and on domestic and international military bases.

The mission of the Boys & Girls Club is “To enable young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring responsible citizens.”

According to the local Club’s materials, the need in La Plata County is great, as thousands of children in Durango alone are unsupervised after school: 1,532 children ages 6-17 live with one parent who holds down a job; and 3,535 children ages 6-17 live in homes with two working parents.

“Every community needs a Boys & Girls Club,” said Morris, admitting his bias having seen the positive effects of clubs in the Phoenix area where he worked prior to taking on the Durango challenge. “There are not enough services here now for the 5,000 kids between 6 and 18. More than 3,000 are going home hopefully to some sort of supervised situation, but realistically, probably not. That’s scary. Scary for them and scary for the community.”

According to Morris, the key to keeping kids out of trouble is to keep them active and involved. As he notes, if children don’t have something to do, they find something, and it’s not always a safe or desired option.

“That’s the benefit of a daily drop-in program where kids can come when they need to,” he said.

Designed to complement existing youth services and increase after school and summer activities for ages 6 to 18, the Boys & Girls Club has been actively supported by the community from its inception. The building was essentially donated by the Board of County Commissioners, and grants and donations financed the roughly $700,000 price tag for renovations and equipment.

The once cavernous, empty building now includes gym and game areas, a computer room, and multi-purpose room for activities such as art classes and homework. Future plans are to install a kitchen and a teen lounge for the older club members. Regular programming, which will grow as the Club matures, is scheduled throughout the week, and members are able to look ahead and plan for things they might enjoy. Some type of educational component is generally included in all activities.

“Are we going to take every opportunity to enhance, augment their education? Absolutely,” said Morris. “And we’ll also continue to talk about values, remind them that there are consequences for their actions and help them when we can, but we’re going to let them be a kid for an afternoon.”

Discipline has not been a significant issue, according to Morris noting that orientations are held for both parents and youth. However, he points out that kids will be kids and arguments happen.

“I’m really huge on the accountability and character piece of it,” said Morris. “So kids realize it doesn’t matter what your friend did, or what anybody did, you made the decision to do what you did and you have to take responsibility for it, and you can’t pass the buck. When you really get down to it, it’s talking a lot about respect. If you fully respect someone, it covers everything else.”

A prime goal of Boys & Girls Clubs is to ensure that it is accessible to everyone, no matter the socio-economic level. For that reason, memberships are maintained at $15 annually for access to the club as well as to all of its programs.

Currently the club has 160 members, with daily attendance varying between 25 and 65. According to Morris, an attendance pattern has yet to emerge.

“I’m waiting to see what that pattern looks like, because we do have limited space,” he said. “Eventually we will have to control the numbers. Right now, if all 160 members showed up at one time, we’d be in trouble. So, is 300 members with 80 here the right combination? We don’t know until we open the doors. It’ll take some time.”

Because of the uncertainty with numbers, staffing is a challenge, but Morris is pleased with the team assembled. By what he considers a stroke of luck, the many have had positive experiences with clubs elsewhere in the country in their youth.

Megan Farr serves as office manager, with Laura Hager the program director. Part time program specialists include Will Cornwall, Crystal Thompson, Avery Perryman and Jared Wright.

“And we have a wonderful board,” said Marshall. “Everyone brings different things to the table, but everyone’s passionate about Boys & Girls Club. We love it.”

In addition to Marshall, board members include Pat Barrett, Dean Brookie, Harry Bruell, Marsh Bull, Dr. Pakhi Chaudhuri, Don Freemyer, Dennis Hanson, Ward Holmes, Amy Kendziorski, Kip Koso, Kathrine McClenny, Marge Navarro, Eileen Wasserbach, Nancy Wharton and Jessica Wheeldon.

“One person can make a big difference in the life of a child,” said Morris.

To make a difference for Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County, send donations to Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County, PO Box 800, Ignacio, CO 81137, or drop by the Club at 2790 Main Ave., Durango, 970.375.0010, www.bgclaplata.org.

 

 

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