Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011

Boys & Girls Clubs hope Wake's in a giving mood

Organization needs $13.2 million for operations, expansion

At the Zebulon Boys and Girls Club, the program is operating out of trailers with a total capacity of 100 - and its membership is more than 400. On days when attendance is high, some of the children have to play outside.

At the Boys Club on North Raleigh Boulevard, rainy days mean half the gym is shut down because of rainwater leakage - the roof hasn't been replaced since the building's construction in 1977.

The Brentwood location is "above and beyond capacity," spokeswoman Valeska Wittek said, with 425 registered members and only one full-time staff position.

"Since the economic downturn, more and more families need our services," board Chairman Gordon Brown said.

"We have seven clubs to operate. That takes a lot of resources."

Two fundraising campaigns are under way by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County: One to raise $1.2 million to cover about half the organization's yearly operating budget and another to gin up $12 million to cover expansion needs as a soured economy drives more families to seek the organization's services.

Located in Raleigh since 1967, the group is part of a national nonprofit whose goal is to enrich the lives of young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances. The clubs serve about 4,000 kids in Wake County, with a goal to serve another 2,000 by the end of the decade.

The Positive Place for Kids Campaign fundraiser kicked off last Tuesday with a $1.2 million goal. The public fundraising goal is $175,000, with the rest sought from foundations, corporations and individuals. About $550,000 has been raised so far.

The larger capital campaign is already under way, with $4.8 million raised in the past year.

Those working in the clubs with the children say they have seen an uptick in attendance and a downturn in many families' circumstances in recent years.

In four years working at the Brentwood club, director Pepe Caudillo said he has heard about more families with income troubles lately.

Boys Club director Nick Allen said his staff works to help those families, whether that means staying after closing time for a parent to pick their child up after a long day at work, or tipping off a local church group to the families who may need extra assistance during the holiday season.

"We're committed to giving the kids what they need," Allen said. "There's no backing away from it when you make a commitment like that to a kid."

The concern is that those income difficulties affecting the economy as a whole will mean fewer fundraising contributions. Funding is a challenge every year, CEO Ralph Capps said. Donations dipped two years ago, but the organization met a $1.1 million goal last year. Capps hopes the organization will hit this year's $1.2 million target.

The Boys Club gym roof will be covered as part of an earmarked $50,000 grant from Lowe's Home Improvement. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held next month on donated land for a new Zebulon club building, with about half the construction costs raised so far.

Officials also hope to build a permanent teen center on Raleigh Boulevard.