$100k in facility improvements underway at Boys & Girls Club
Improvements reflect a higher standard of expectations for kids
A year and a half ago, staff of the Asbury Park unit of the Boys & Girls Club penned a vision statement to ensure the facility would remain a beacon of hope to the community. Through donations secured from two nonprofit organizations for building renovations, they are well on their way to completing that vision.
About $100,ooo in renovations to the club’s second-floor recreation and computer rooms are in progress at the Asbury Park location, according to the club’s Executive Director, Douglas Eagles [shown below, at right].
Improvements include a new drop ceiling, refinished floors, a new second-floor window, a renovated computer room, new air ducts for heating and ventilation, new wiring and sheet rock, and a fresh coat of paint, Eagles said.
The improvements reflect a higher standard of expectations for club kids.
“In essence, if you have a run-down, beat up facility, the kids will live down to that expectation,” he said. “If you have a fully renovated, state-of-the-art facility that communicates a value and a worth to the kids — that they are worth it — they will live up to that expectation.”
“That is what we want to see. By creating that dynamic and that expectation, the kids will strive for greatness, and that’s what we want our kids to do — strive for greatness.”
The improvements come through donations from two nonprofit organizations. The NY/NJ Snowflake Foundation provided $75,000 and Friends of the Spring Lake Five provided an additional $24,000 in funds.
The donation from the Spring Lake Five helped the club pay for 15 new computers, a new server, security cameras and new furniture for the club’s computer lab, said Eagles.
“If we can provide our club kids with state-of-the-art technology and teach them to use it to get ahead, it will give them a competitive advantage later on in life,” he said.
The club charges $20 per child for after school programs that last the duration of the school year. Actual cost per club kid is $1300, which the club subsidizes by hosting various fundraisers throughout the year, including their annual Asbury Park events Portapalooza, an adult recreation night at Porta Pizzeria, and A Most Unusual Evening, an annual burlesque show held at Asbury Lanes, he said.
Friends of the Spring Lake Five Inc. is a nonprofit organization organized by the Spring Lake Five Race Committee. In 2014, the race’s charity partners were able to raise over $100,000 for their individual causes, with over $600,000 raised in the last seven years, according to the race website.
The NY/NJ Snowflake Foundation is a nonprofit organization created by the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee. To date, the foundation has raised more than $13 million to support over 75 projects to improve after school facilities and support community programs in New York and New Jersey, according to the foundation website.
Through a partnership with Lowe’s home improvement store’s Local Heroes program, Eagles expects to begin renovations on the first floor of the building within the coming months, he said.
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