Culture club

New Boys and Girls Club opens its doors to south Everett youth

By KATE REARDON

Herald Writer

EVERETT — Irvin Seguro didn’t have to do a lot of convincing to entice others to join his after-school crowd.

After all, the 13-year-old started hanging out at a new place that has pool tables, crafts and a teen night on Fridays. It’s a new Boys and Girls Club, the 10th to open in Snohomish County.

The new club at 525 W. Casino Road opened last week in a renovated Mukilteo School District bus barn.

It’s already becoming a hit in the neighborhood.

"It’s fun and something to do, and you can get to know more people," Irvin said. "It’s safe here."

Irvin has lived in the area for about four years and goes to Olympic View Middle School.

"There’s a whole bunch of kids who live at my apartment (complex)," Irvin said, adding that he told everyone he knew about the club. "I was, like, ‘Hey guys, want something to do?’ "

On days before the club opened, Irvin said he and friends would try to start pick-up baseball games. But Irvin said he was worried that the winter weather would start to ruin that.

The timing of the club’s opening was good, he said.

The new club is expected to attract hundreds of youngsters each year.

Boys and Girls Clubs countywide attract more than 11,500 kids for after-school and leadership programs and teen nights.

The new club is a place where kids can go for help on homework or play games such as Ping-Pong or pool.

Although it’s not set up yet, the club also will open a lab with 16 computers. As many as 200 kids or more can be in the south Everett club at a time.

About 25 people have signed up for club membership, and director Brent Anderson expects that number to increase rapidly.

Anderson, 25, a graduate of Everett High School, said some of the kids used to visit the north Everett club. This location will be a lot easier for them to reach.

The Boys and Girls Clubs saw a need to locate a facility in south Everett, said Bill Tsoukalas, executive director of the Snohomish County clubs.

"Kids in this environment are doing healthy things," Tsoukalas said. "And they’re doing better in school."

Tsoukalas said work ahead includes developing ideas to make transportation more available, as well as opening new clubs at other locations.

"We see about 25 percent of our members at clubs every day," he said. "I think we’d be at about 50 percent if transportation was there."

The $244,000 to renovate the old metal-clad bus barn for the south Everett club came from a city grant. The Mukilteo School District owns the 6,000-square-foot building, which will serve Everett-area school kids south of Highway 526.

"Boys and Girls Clubs are a positive place for kids," Tsoukalas said. "There are activities, role model, a safe environment and kids are having fun too."

Talk to us

More in Local News

Members of South County Fire practice onboarding and offboarding a hovering Huey helicopter during an interagency disaster response training exercise at Arlington Municipal Airport on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Arlington, Washington. The crews learned about and practiced safe entry and exit protocols with crew from Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue before begin given a chance to do a live training. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Snohomish, King counties train together for region’s next disaster

Dozens of agencies worked with aviators Tuesday to coordinate a response to a simulated earthquake or tsunami.

Police stand along Linden Street next to orange cones marking pullet casings in a crime scene of a police involved shooting on Friday, May 19, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens man identified in Everett manhunt, deadly police shooting

Travis Hammons, 34, was killed by officers following a search for an armed wanted man in a north Everett neighborhood.

Ciscoe Morris, a longtime horticulturist and gardening expert, will speak at Sorticulture. (Photo provided by Sorticulture)
Get your Sorticulture on: Garden festival returns to downtown Everett

It’s a chance to shop, dance, get gardening tips, throw an axe and look through a big kaleidoscope. Admission is free.

Funko mascots Freddy Funko roll past on a conveyor belt in the Pop! Factory of the company's new flagship store on Aug. 18, 2017.  (Dan Bates / The Herald)
Lawsuit: Funko misled investors about Arizona move

A shareholder claims Funko’s decision to relocate its distribution center from Everett to Arizona was “disastrous.”

Lynnwood
1 stabbed at apartment in Lynnwood

The man, 26, was taken to an Everett hospital with “serious injuries.”

A firefighting helicopter carries a bucket of water from a nearby river to the Bolt Creek Fire on Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022, on U.S. Highway 2 near Index, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Red flag fire warning issued west of Cascades

There are “critical fire weather” conditions due to humidity and wind in the Cascades, according to the National Weather Service.

A house fire damaged two homes around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 6, 2023 in Marysville, Washington. (Photo provided by Marysville Fire District)
Fire burns 2 homes in Marysville, killing 2 dogs

Firefighters responded to a report of a fire north of Lakewood Crossing early Tuesday, finding two houses engulfed in flames.

Dolly Hunnicutt holds onto a metal raccoon cutout while looking through metal wildflowers at the Freeborn Metal Art booth during the first day of Sorticulture on Friday, June 9, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sorticulture brings gardening galore, fun by the bushel at 130 booths

“Every year there’s something different to see,” one attendee said at the opening of the three-day festival in downtown Everett.

Alex Dold lived with his mother and grandmother, Ruby Virtue, near Echo Lake. His sisters, Vanessa and Jen Dold, often would visit to play board games and watch soccer on television.
Troubled deputies at center of $1.5M settlement in Maltby man’s death

In 2017, Bryson McGee and Cody McCoy killed Alex Dold with their Tasers. Neither of them work for the sheriff’s office anymore.

Most Read