Published: Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tulalips’ Boys & Girls Club cited as a model
The state hopes to duplicate the Tulalip Tribes’ success with the club.
TULALIP — The Tulalip Tribes have a resource that is found on no other reservation in the state: a Boys & Girls Club.
The success of that club, in operation since 1997, has not only caught the attention of state officials but has prompted them to spend money to try to duplicate it elsewhere.
The state Attorney General’s office announced Monday it would set aside $101,700 to hire a coordinator to work with tribes around the state to establish clubs on their reservations.
“Club kids are less likely to take drugs or commit crimes,” Attorney General Rob McKenna said. “They’re more likely to graduate from high school.”
The grant comes from a pot of money that was received in settlements with firms, including large drug companies, that were sued over violations of the state’s Consumer Protection Act, according to McKenna’s office.
More than a decade ago, the Tulalip Tribes had a youth program they wanted to improve upon and discussed with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County the possibility of starting a club on the reservation, officials said.
The tribes and the Boys & Girls Clubs reached an agreement in which the tribes provide the space and pay for operating costs while the Boys & Girls Clubs run the program.
“It’s been a great relationship,” Tulalip tribal chairman Mel Sheldon Jr. said. “It’s been a focal point not only for our kids but their parents.”
Nationwide, 215 clubs exist on reservations, said Bill Tsoukalas, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County. The Tulalip club was the sixth of those to be established, he said.
Tsoukalas, as chairman of the umbrella group for the 20 Boys & Girls Clubs organizations in the state, has discussed with other tribes in Washington state the possibility of establishing clubs on their reservations, he said.
“I made myself available to tribes that heard about what I was doing, to come and talk and visit with tribal councils and boards. But with limited time I wasn’t able to give it due justice.”
Tsoukalas said he had a conversation with McKenna about a year ago that helped lead to Monday’s announcement.
Some tribes have more resources than others and will be more equipped to hit the ground running, he said. For instance, the Chehalis tribe of Lewis County recently built a new community center and has expressed interest in establishing a club, he said.
When the coordinator is hired, that person will focus on establishing clubs on four reservations to start. No particular tribes have been chosen, but some who have expressed interest besides the Chehalis include the Lummi, Quinault and Yakama, he said.
The Tulalip club, at 7707 36th Ave. NW, offers sports, a multimedia room, tutoring, an arts program, classes in leadership skills and more.
The club’s facilities, including its gym, provide overflow space for adults and children alike when other tribal buildings are occupied, Sheldon said.
It also helps kids stay out of trouble, he said.
“It gives them a place to go on weekends.”
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
The success of that club, in operation since 1997, has not only caught the attention of state officials but has prompted them to spend money to try to duplicate it elsewhere.
The state Attorney General’s office announced Monday it would set aside $101,700 to hire a coordinator to work with tribes around the state to establish clubs on their reservations.
“Club kids are less likely to take drugs or commit crimes,” Attorney General Rob McKenna said. “They’re more likely to graduate from high school.”
The grant comes from a pot of money that was received in settlements with firms, including large drug companies, that were sued over violations of the state’s Consumer Protection Act, according to McKenna’s office.
More than a decade ago, the Tulalip Tribes had a youth program they wanted to improve upon and discussed with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County the possibility of starting a club on the reservation, officials said.
The tribes and the Boys & Girls Clubs reached an agreement in which the tribes provide the space and pay for operating costs while the Boys & Girls Clubs run the program.
“It’s been a great relationship,” Tulalip tribal chairman Mel Sheldon Jr. said. “It’s been a focal point not only for our kids but their parents.”
Nationwide, 215 clubs exist on reservations, said Bill Tsoukalas, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County. The Tulalip club was the sixth of those to be established, he said.
Tsoukalas, as chairman of the umbrella group for the 20 Boys & Girls Clubs organizations in the state, has discussed with other tribes in Washington state the possibility of establishing clubs on their reservations, he said.
“I made myself available to tribes that heard about what I was doing, to come and talk and visit with tribal councils and boards. But with limited time I wasn’t able to give it due justice.”
Tsoukalas said he had a conversation with McKenna about a year ago that helped lead to Monday’s announcement.
Some tribes have more resources than others and will be more equipped to hit the ground running, he said. For instance, the Chehalis tribe of Lewis County recently built a new community center and has expressed interest in establishing a club, he said.
When the coordinator is hired, that person will focus on establishing clubs on four reservations to start. No particular tribes have been chosen, but some who have expressed interest besides the Chehalis include the Lummi, Quinault and Yakama, he said.
The Tulalip club, at 7707 36th Ave. NW, offers sports, a multimedia room, tutoring, an arts program, classes in leadership skills and more.
The club’s facilities, including its gym, provide overflow space for adults and children alike when other tribal buildings are occupied, Sheldon said.
It also helps kids stay out of trouble, he said.
“It gives them a place to go on weekends.”
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
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