Positive news is spreading all over town—and area youngsters have a reason to celebrate. After lengthy review and careful planning, the Boys & Girls Clubs partnered with the Douglass Community Association to open a new unit there in late March.
The Boys & Girls Clubs are drop-in facilities that provide free educational and recreational programs for area youth. The Club offers family support, outreach, tutoring and mentoring for members and their parents.
With the help and support of numerous community organizations, the Douglass unit provides after-school and Saturday programming that include new opportunities for recreation, education and the arts. About 35 boys and girls are attending the new unit each day.
“The partnership is a special opportunity for our organization and a step in the right direction for this community.” said Boys & Girls Clubs Executive Director Robert Ezelle. “We believe we can make an impact with our programming.”
According to Tim Terrentine, Executive Director at Douglass, “the partnership enhances the services we provide. The activity center improves our outreach and helps us to establish an even stronger tie with the community.”
Douglass provides comprehensive community services to persons of all ages and backgrounds. While the services provided by both agencies complement each other, they remain autonomous and operate separately. Boys & Girls Clubs also continues to operate
its Lake Street unit and its summer camp near Hastings.
Douglass and the Boys & Girls Clubs are working closely with Kalamazoo Public Schools, law enforcement officials, the City of Kalamazoo, homeless shelters, Juvenile Court and the Hispanic American Council to recruit and serve new members.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo has been serving youth in the greater Kalamazoo area since 1953. Every program offered by the Boys & Girls Clubs helps young people in Kalamazoo to develop a strong moral compass that guides them towards a successful future. Each day the organization serves roughly 130 youth. During 2007, 339 young people became new members of the Boys & Girls Clubs at the Lake Street unit.
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