GRANITE FALLS — Hundreds of children and teens are signed up for the local Boys &Girls Club, but not all of them can fit in the building for summer camps or after-school programs.
That’s about to change. The Boys &Girls Clubs of Snohomish County is buying the former Mountain Loop Fitness Building, a large commercial gym on the corner of Alder and Stanley streets. It’s four times the size of the building at 307 N. Alder Ave that the club leases from the Granite Falls School District.
About 600 kids belong to the club but no more than 125 can fit into the current location, and that would be a squeeze, said Bill Tsoukalas, executive director of the Snohomish County Boys &Girls Clubs.
“There’s a huge demand for the services we provide,” he said.
Those include child care, teen groups, homework help, sports and clubs, snacks and a safe place to go when kids aren’t at school or home.
The Boys &Girls Club had a location in Granite Falls from 1998 to 2007 but closed when the city stopped leasing out space in the former community center on South Granite Avenue. It quickly became clear that the community wanted their club back, Tsoukalas said. In 2014, the club moved into the small building on Alder Avenue.
“Immediately we just had an influx of kids,” Tsoukalas said. “That demonstrated a need for something bigger and better.”
Thanks to $1 million from the Legislature and support from the city, School District and local businesses, the Boys &Girls Club made an offer on the Mountain Loop Fitness space. The purchase should be final Sept. 20, Tsoukalas said.
Programs could start there as soon as November, said Robert Cannon, director of the Granite Falls club.
“We’ve come this far in two years,” he said. “The community has relentlessly shown the need.”
Four buses stop at the club every school day to drop off kids. There’s a homework “power hour,” snacks and then free time to play games, watch movies or work on projects in the Lego robotics or science rooms.
All of those spaces need to be bigger, Cannon said. Kids wait in line for their turn to do homework on a computer or work on a project in the science room. There’s no dedicated space for teens, so most middle-schoolers leave when elementary students arrive.
Program director Roxanne Anderson is excited to set up a teen center in the new building.
“Those are the people I really want to target,” she said. “In middle school is when they start getting into trouble.”
The club is raising money to buy property next to the new building and build a gymnasium for youth sports and tournaments. Their goal is $300,000.
With the gym, the club would be about 20,000 square feet, on par with clubs in Snohomish, Monroe and Lake Stevens.
“When it all comes out in the wash, the boys and girls in Granite Falls will have the same services as we offer at other Boys &Girls Clubs in the county,” Tsoukalas said.
There will be room for a teen center, children’s programs and more sports, computers and project space.
“We’re going to give them a showcase,” development director Ken Salem said. “We’re going to give them a wonderland.”
Stephanie Hardison, 17, volunteers at the club. Her younger siblings, ages 6 and 8, go there with her.
“I wake up at seven o’clock and they’re already ready to go and they don’t want to leave until right before the club closes,” Hardison said.
She can’t wait for the new space, she said, because all ages will have room to do their own activities.
Brady Smith, 13, is president of the Torch Club, the Boys &Girls version of student government.
“During the school year I spend most of my time here,” he said. “I think its offers a good thing to look forward to.”
He’s excited for the new building because it won’t feel stuffy and crowded on busy days, he said.
The club always can use help from the community, Cannon and Salem said, whether it comes in the form of donated furniture and supplies, money or volunteers.
“The more support we can get from different organizations out here who really see the value in these kids, that’s more doors we can open,” Cannon said.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
How to help
To learn more about how to help, people can call the club at 360-386-1583, go online to bgcsc.org/granite-falls-capital-campaign or check the club’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/granitefallsbgcsc.
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