Message from Mike Wurm, Chief Professional Officer . . .
We are coming into a very interesting time for the community and the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. After the YMCA left the area several years ago, the community has had to fill a void. No one entity has been able to do that by themselves. We have done our part by reaching children that were being served by the YMCA by reopening some of the school sites they occupied. We also significantly increased our sports league offerings to try and accommodate the need for our youth. To date, these strategies have been successful, but as we have grown into these new areas, it is quite evident that there is even more to do.
That is where this new building project comes into play. Because of the generosity of the William N. Pennington Foundation, we have been able to go into the community and raise funds needed to build a new Boys & Girls Club in the footprint of the old YMCA location at 1300 Foster Drive. Most of the funding to date for the building project and immediate sustainability has come from local foundations. While we still have money to raise for the remaining capital for the building, once the construction of the new building is complete the next challenge begins: long term sustainability.
We have diversified our funding streams significantly over the last 10 years, trying to be careful not to rely on any one source too heavily. But, as we move into the start of construction and by the spring of 2014, the completion of the Boys & Girls Club on Foster Drive, it is imperative that we raise the final funds for this important project through community support from local businesses, families and individuals. If you are interested in being a part of the new Boys & Girls Club facility on Foster Drive please contact me at (775) 331-5437.
As we enter the busy summer season at the Boys & Girls Club, it’s a good reminder of how many kids’ lives will be changed by the new Pennington facility. Your continued support will allow staff to reach more kids through fun, purposeful programming. It will give more kids the opportunity to interact with enthusiastic, caring adults and opportunities to make good decisions, moving one step closer to becoming productive, caring citizens in our community.
A special thanks to all the board, volunteers and staff that work so hard to keep our organization moving forward and fulfilling the mission of serving those kids in our community that need us the most.
For the kids,
Mike Wurm
Chief Professional Officer
The Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows hosts a night of great food and music at Cowboys & Crawfish, Saturday, June 22, at the Out of Town Park in Fernley. The inaugural event includes a FREE country concert featuring: Joey Carmon and Kentucky Blue, HomeMade Jam and Against the Grain.
