Boys & Girls Clubs to Serve More Teens in Douglas County

Douglas County Club hosts teen center groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 10

December 10, 2009

To meet the growing needs of teens in Douglas County, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA) announced expansion of its Douglas County Boys & Girls Club. On Dec. 10 from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m., communiyt and organization dignitaries and guests participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Douglas County Boys & Girls Club Teen Center.

Across the nation, teen membership and ongoing Club involvement is enhanced by teens having a place of their own within the Club. To meet this need and actively engage more teenagers in the community, BGCMA and community leaders recognized the needs for a new teen center. The center will be a separate facility, but connected to the main clubhouse. It will include a  leadership room, learning center, music-video studio, cultural enrichment room, and fitness area along with three new offices, snack room and check-in area.

BGCMA President William Lampley, Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller, City Manager Bill Osborne and Douglas County Club Director Steve Hord presented at the groundbreaking.  In addition, teen members and winners of the essay contest “What the teen center means to me” read their essays aloud to guests. 

A place where PROMISE lives, the teen center will allow professional and trained staff to continue to work with the teen programming which focuses on six core areas:  education and career development, character and leadership development, health and life skills, arts and cultural enrichment, sports, fitness and recreation and outdoor education. Trained adult staff members implement Club programs and mentor nearly 212 teen members and more than 40 daily teen participants. The total Club membership is more than 553.

Douglas County Boys & Girls Club has been a part of the community for more than  25 years. Club members have a  17 percent overall higher grade point average, and 51 percent of  the kids who join the Club stay through high school.

For more information on the new teen center, call  David Kazanowski  at 770-577-5717.  To make a donation to the Douglas County Teen Center Building Campaign, visit any one of the three Suntrust Bank locations in Douglasville, or donate online at www.bgcma.org/club/douglas , or send to: Attention: The Teen Center Building Campaign, Douglas County Boys & Girls Club, 8828 Gurley Road, Douglasville GA, 30134.ABOUT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF METRO ATLANTA
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta operates 26 Clubs in 10 metro counties in addition to Camp Kiwanis and Youth Art Connection, a gallery and workspace for young artists. A trained and professional staff serves more than 17,000 youth annually by offering specialized programming and a safe haven for at-risk and underprivileged children and teens. Memberships cost only $35 per school year but scholarships are available for those who need assistance. For more information or to make a promise to metro Atlanta children, please visit http://www.bgcma.org