Boys & Girls Club previews new Kenai "forever home," teen programming and open house
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Summary
Club CEO Shanette Wick told council the organization secured major grants and is opening a new 7,000 sq ft clubhouse with childcare, a full-size gym and teen programming; an open house is scheduled May 17.
The Boys & Girls Club of the Kenai Peninsula updated the Kenai City Council on April 16 about construction progress on its new clubhouse and recent fundraising wins that will support programming, particularly for teens.
Shanette Wick, chief executive officer, said the organization has secured several major gifts and grants that have allowed construction to proceed on land the city donated. The new clubhouse will total more than 7,000 square feet, include three large classrooms, an embedded childcare center (the childcare opened August 1), a commercial kitchen and a full-size high-school gym floor. Wick said the club has received a $25,000 Gary Wendt grant, a $25,000 Think, Learn & Create (NFL) grant, and other support, and that Murkowski and Murdoch (donors described in the presentation) contributed to the capital campaign.
Wick said the clubhouse will support year-round programming from infants to teens and that the teen center has a strong record: locally the teen center serves more youth on average than comparable clubs in Anchorage and other larger cities. She said teen programming includes community-service activities (food bank, Salvation Army), mentoring and a new TLC project focused on mental health awareness.
Wick invited council members to an open house on May 17 from 3 to 5 p.m. and said the clubhouse is already being used for activities while site work finishes: "We started clearing the land that you guys donated. The clubhouse's got its windows in. Our childcare center opened August 1. So May 17 from 3 to 5, we have an open house," she said.
Vice Mayor Knackstedt and multiple council members praised the donation of city property and the club's fundraising, and council members asked whether the teen center would remain on its current site or move into the new campus. Wick said the preference is to create a single campus serving ages 8 weeks to 18 with shared facilities such as the kitchen and greenhouse, but she acknowledged cost and programming considerations and said teens would continue to be involved in planning.
Wick also described donor naming opportunities tied to a capital-campaign donor wall and said the club expected strong community interest in small and larger donations.
Ending: Council thanked the Boys & Girls Club for its ongoing programming and for the invitation to the May 17 open house; no council action was required.
