New Boys & Girls Club in Brandon opens doors
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Kids play and wave at the new Boys & Girls Club on Friday in Brandon. Benedict Hudson / Rutland Herald |
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By Gordon Dritschilo STAFF WRITER - Published: July 4, 2009
BRANDON — The Brandon Boys & Girls Club is open for business.
The teen center opened its doors Wednesday with more than 100 members already signed up.
"I'm sure there are many more now," steering committee member Nancy Leary said Thursday. "When I went yesterday and today, there must have been 25 or 30 kids both days."
The club was born out of work between a local teen center and the SOAR after-school program. Rutland Boys & Girls Club executive director Larry Bayle called it a perfect example of how different community groups can work together.
"The town itself has given us money, the SOAR program is collaborating and we're collaborating, so it's a three-way collaboration," he said.
Monday, the club launches six weeks of summer programming, with day camps and programs centered on tennis, swimming, drumming, lacrosse, basketball and soccer. Drop-in programs will also continue from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The club is divided into two halves — a teen center serving 13- to 18-year-olds and a junior center serving 6- to 12-year-olds. It features a computer lab with 13 computers, a studio and five staff.
The club accepts children from all the towns that feed into Otter Valley Union High School — Brandon, Pittsford, Goshen, Leicester, Sudbury, Whiting and Forest Dale. Membership is $15 a year, but the fee is not due until Sept. 1.
"So, basically, the summer is free," Leary said
Leary said the camp programs cost $40 a week, and that scholarships on both the programs and the membership fee are available for people in need.
The steering committee had to raise more than $100,000 to cover the first year's operating funds before opening. Leary said it was gratifying seeing the committee's work pay off.
"The best part was seeing kids there playing basketball and shooting pool," she said.
gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com
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