SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Boys & Girls Clubs of Sierra Vista are in the middle of a renovation that will grow their outreach and allow more kids to attend their programs
They're increasing the size of the gym at their main branch, which will increase their capacity by 20%. The indoor gym is used for sports and as a meeting place, since it's the only room in the building where all the kids and staff can meet at once.
“I'm really excited to have this space for our kiddos, because when I was a club kid, I attended this organization, and we used to walk over half a mile to the newer nearest outdoor basketball courts," said CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Sierra Vista, Jay Hamwright. “To be able to have this space provided for the kids on a daily basis, and also being the largest indoor gym facility that's offered the youth on a daily basis, we're very proud of that.”
The project expands the indoor basketball court, creates offices for staff, and makes room for more storage.
"We basically took away rooms that we weren't using and converted them into program space, so we can increase our capacity and serve more kids,” Hamwright said.
The renovation will cost more than $400,000, and is being funded with money from donations and grants.
"Without our caring people here making monetary contributions, we're not able to carry on our day-to-day operations," Hamwright said. "This project is beautiful. It's great. We want to offer something new for the kids, but we want to be able to make sure we're sustainable and keep this going.”
A bigger space means more kids at their facility during the year, especially during the summer, fulfilling the club's mission to serve as many young people as possible.
"We know the need out there is greater than what we're currently serving," Hamwright said. "So this will be able to extend our walls, get more kids into the facility, and also draw more kids and offer more, you know, affordable sports and things along those lines for the kiddos.”
The upstairs offices were also renovated, to include training space for staff.
“Staff have been highly engaged in this project, too. this is not something that's pushed from the top down,” Hamwright said.
There isn't a current date for when this project will be done, but Hamwright says he's hopeful that it'll be done before their summer program starts, because that's when they have the most kids at the main branch.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
