A four-year fundraising campaign, the COVID-19 pandemic and various supply chain issues were all factors that kept the building at 945 Progress Road from officially becoming Gilmer County’s new Boys and Girls Club.
Those obstacles have either subsided or been overcome and, as of Aug. 8, the new club is finally open.
“It’s almost like a dream come true. I walked in and was like, ‘Wow, we’re here,’” said Jessica Wells, Boys and Girls Clubs of North Georgia CEO.
The 8,000-square foot building was mostly paid for by Faith, Hope and Charity Recycle Store Inc. in 2018. The Boys and Girls Clubs of North Georgia then had to fundraise for extensive renovation of the spacious standalone building, which was previously divided by walls to accommodate three separate tenants.
The total project cost, including the building/land purchase and renovations, was about $1.1 million, noted Ken Fillman, Boys and Girls Clubs of North Georgia board chairman.
It looked like the club was ready to move from its longtime home in the Gilmer County Civic Center a few times over the past year, but different things kept pushing the move in date back, confirmed Wells.
“There were many hurdles,” she said. “Our first goal was December (2021), then it was spring break and then it was summer. But we were just too close to the wire with summer camp.”
The Boys and Girls Club, which offers a Monday-Friday after-school program and a summer day program, had operated out of the Civic Center the past 10 years. That space, offered by the county at no cost, was definitely an improvement from the mobile classroom unit in which the local club first started, noted Wells. However, it had just been outgrown over time, she added.
“We were busting at the seams,” said Wells, who thanked the local commissioners for providing that space to the Boys and Girls Club for the past 12 years.
The club now has more room to grow, both in the number of children it can serve and the types of activities it can offer, confirmed Karla Roper, development director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Georgia. An upstairs level of the building isn’t being used right now, but it could also be renovated at some point as the club continues to expand.
“While this (building) is already going to allow us to serve more children in the area, we are prepared to add on. This will be a building we can use a long time from now,” said Roper.
One factor currently preventing the new club from serving its maximum number of 200 children is that more employees will first need to be hired, noted Wells. At maximum, the new club will be able to welcome about twice the amount of kids than the previous location.
“We’re not at full capacity with kids, but we are pleased to be in the building,” Wells said. “We already have a large waiting list.”
When giving a tour of the club, Roper said it allows for several features the previous club did not have. Those include an outdoor playground, a section especially for teens and a kitchen to be used for cooking classes.
“They can learn cooking and life skills, which prepares teens for the future. They didn’t have that before, so we’re really excited about it. My daughter still cooks things now that she learned at (the Boys and Girls Club) cooking club,” added Roper.
The playground, in particular, is a hit with younger club kids.
“We couldn’t have asked for a bigger bonus than a playground,” said Roper.
The club also has a game room with a pool table, basketball hoop and other games to play. Roper noted that the combination game and meeting room is larger than the entire former club space (not including a gym area that was shared with the county rec. department). A gym is also near completion at the new club.
The Gilmer club hasn’t only changed locations, but also names, in the transition period. Previously known as the Three Rivers Boys and Girls Club, it’s now officially the George Link Jr. Boys and Girls Club.
The renaming recognizes the George Link Jr.Charitable Trust, which, along with Faith, Hope and Charity, provided significant funding for the building renovations to be completed, noted Wells.
That name may sound familiar, as downtown Ellijay’s Gilmer Arts playhouse is also named in recognition of the Link charity, which provided funding for its construction. Members of the Link family live in Gilmer County, noted Phillman.
“We reached out to the community to make additional contributions to help us achieve our goal. The community really pulled together to recognize the need for this facility for the children of Ellijay and Gilmer County,” said Fillman. “We initially didn’t think we’d have enough funding to finish the gym, but (we will) be able to do that, as well, which is an added plus.” The new space was getting a warm reception from both club kids and parents when the Times-Courier stopped by last week.
Emma Croyle, age 6, said, so far, she’s really enjoying playing air hockey and, of course, the playground.
“It’s got (a lot) more room,” she said about the club.
Daniel Crawford, a local club parent, shared a similar opinion.
“It’s nice to have a new building that’s got more room for projects and things like that. And it’s away from that (high) traffic area, which is a lot safer,” he said.