Boys & Girls Club hopes for new home by next summer

If a fundraising push is a success, the Boys & Girls Club of Kootenai County could break ground this fall on a facility in Post Falls.

In the meantime, the group must raise $500,000 in donations and pledges. It’s a goal Executive Director Ryan Davis wants met by the end of the month.

So far, the fund drive is going well, he said.

In addition to thousands of dollars of donations, the Boys & Girls Club has also received in-kind donations. Kimball Office of Post Falls is donating office furniture for the new building.

Poe Asphalt is donating paving of the parking lot.

Contractor Polin and Young Construction Inc. has helped secure several donations from subcontractors on the project, Davis said.

If the funding is there and the Boys & Girls Club can break ground in the fall, Davis said the facility could open off Mullan Avenue and Spokane Street by the middle of next summer.

Geared toward kids ages 6 and up, the 18,000-square-foot Boys & Girls Club will include a teen center with a cybercafe, pool tables, video games and a multimedia studio where kids can design and edit movies.

The building will include an activity center, gymnasium, a learning center, a technology center and a wellness/community center, Davis said.

Volunteer tutors will help students with homework during the Power Hour program.

Davis said the Boys & Girls Club targets at-risk youth.

“When we say at-risk kids, we mean every kid is at risk of making a bad decision,” Davis said.

For now, the club is operating out of a Nazarene church at 308 W. 12th Ave. in Post Falls. Though the Boys & Girls Club doesn’t have a home of its own, programs are already up and running.

A summer program runs daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Aug. 15. Different themes are planned each week, from Ironman to basketball to extreme sports and reality TV.

Membership to the club costs $20 annually and includes participation in all programs and activities.

To donate to the fund drive, contact Davis at 661-9316. For information on Boys & Girls Club program, call 457-9089.