Great Attendance at Great Futures Groundbreaking Ceremony
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Avion Nelson, a current Teen Center member, shared a story that got the crowd laughing early Thursday morning. With more than 200 people gathered at the Lawrence College and Center, he told the crowd what he is most excited about when the Don & Beverly Gardner Center for Great Futures opens next year.
“Two years ago, during the winter, I was at the Club and really wanted to play basketball,” he said in his first public speech. “But my friends thought I was crazy because there was snow on the ground. I shoveled all of the snow off of the court so that my friends and I could play. What I am most excited about at this new Teen Center is having an indoor gym…so I don’t have to shovel the court anymore.”
That recollection was one of numerous highlights and joyful moments at the Groundbreaking on Great Futures Ceremony. Executive Director, Colby Wilson, began the program by thanking the crowd, which was even larger than anticipated. Members of the Lawrence Public School Board, the Lawrence City Commission, surrounding Boys & Girls Clubs, current and former parents of Club kids, a huge turnout from the Red Dog’s “Dog Days” community workout group and several others were there to show their support.
“I was hopeful that we had done a good job inviting our donors and supporters and getting the word out to the community about this ceremony,” Wilson said. “But I was still very surprised and humbled by the amount of people that came. There were a lot of people that I haven’t even met yet, which is a great indicator that we are doing the right thing and this building is going to make a difference for kids in the community.”
A number of those kids were in attendance on Thursday. Not only did Nelson, a soon-to-be eighth grader at Southwest Middle School, relay his excitement about the new indoor gym, he also talked about the audio and video production space, the culinary kitchen and the separated workspaces to get their homework completed. He was joined by other current members of the Teen Center, two of which “turned the dirt” alongside Amy Hill, the Director of Teen Services for the Club.
A 2017 Lawrence High School graduate, Jazmyne McNair, has been an advocate for the Club and this project since earning the Kansas Youth of the Year title in 2016. She has since given several tours of the Teen Center to explain the need to community members and even traveled with Wilson to Washington, D.C. to speak to national representatives about the importance of federal funding for afterschool programs. When talking about the impact the Club and her mentor, Ashley Estrada, has had on her life, the usually stoic McNair could not hide her emotions. Tears fell from her eyes – and several others – as she completed her speech.
“It gives me great comfort to know that back here in Lawrence there are so many people supporting the teens,” McNair said. “I’d just like to thank you all supporting this project. You’ll have such an amazing impact on their lives.”
The adults who took the podium also delivered heartfelt messages of encouragement. Wilson recognized his dedicated staff and board, reminding everyone of other famous milestones in Boys & Girls Club history that came to be because of committed people refusing to take the easy road.
“It would have been easy to say we’re doing good enough,” Wilson said in his speech. “We are serving 1,500 kids a day, we have a great partnership with our local school district, graduation rates are increasing, we had a National Youth of the Year winner in 2012… we’re doing great, let’s just maintain. But that’s not what leaders do.”
Wilson, the board of directors and the BGCLK staff knew that the current Boys & Girls Club Teen Center can only serve 70 kids on a daily basis. That means less than one percent of Lawrence’s middle school and high school students can attend the Club. That’s a far cry from the 63 percent of Lawrence’s public elementary school students who belong to the Boys & Girls Club and the 1,500 students who attend Club activities every day.
Co-chairs Al and Sue Hack accepted a massive role to lead the “Great Futures Start Here” campaign, directing a steering committee of Club volunteers and staff to secure more than $4 million to construct the facility. Wilson credited their leadership to be one of the primary reasons this vision will soon be reality. The duo gave a joint speech, humbly distributing the praise.
“I do believe that the collaboration among organizations and nonprofits, like the Boys & Girls Club, is the strength of our community,” Sue said. “We have a strong relationship with other organizations within our community. One would certainly be with USD 497. Without their vision of what could happen with young people being served in their elementary schools and supporting this venture to connect this facility with the wonderful College and career Center, this project would not be as good.”
Before they wrapped up their comments, Al asked “Red Dog” and Bev to stand and be recognized as the namesake of the building. Roars of applause followed. The Hacks also gave a shout out to two major players in the construction – MarLan Construction and TreanorHL.
“Treanor HL has done a lot of work to design a space that meets the needs of middle and high schoolers,” Al said. “They put a lot of thought in to make sure the Teen center is a cool place to be.”
Anna Stubblefield, Interim Superintendent of Schools, and Boys & Girls Club board member, gave the final speech and added USD 497’s perspective to the conversation. After so much talk surrounding the partnership, she concurred with the sentiments.
“This partnership works because our missions are aligned. The school district’s mission revolves around excellence, engagement and equity,” Stubblefield said. “I also want to thank the citizens of Lawrence who voted to approve the $87 million bond, which will enhance this project by adding a state of the art Culinary Kitchen and teaching and learning space.”
After hearing from a range of voices, the dirt turners made their way to the mound and put on their hard hats. With the crowd counting them down, the group flipped the soil and officially kicked off construction. The Don & Beverly Gardner Center for Great Futures is set to open in August 2018.
Hardhat tours of the site and the Lawrence College and Career can be arranged upon request. To schedule a tour, contact Wilson at cwilson@bgclk.org.