Boys and Girls Club thriving during their 50th anniversary serving Watertown
When Watertown community leaders gathered back in 2007 in the Boys and Girls Club basement next to an active gun range, they faced a daunting task.
Their mission, at the direction of then Mayor Paul Fox, was to make dramatic strides in Watertown’s growth by separating the Boys and Girls Club from the city’s recreation center and swimming pool, which shared space in a building attached to the north end of the Civic Arena.
Both organizations were cramped, unable to serve their memberships. It would take nearly a decade but the new $24 million Prairie Lakes Wellness Center would open on the city’s north side, making way for a $5 million Boys and Girls Club expansion in the rec center’s vacated space.
That expansion enabled both organizations to thrive, particularly the Boys and Girls Club which this year is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. It also stopped armed people from walking into the club on their way to a gun range that was closed as part of the expansion.
Started in 1973 in an old building on Broadway Street in downtown Watertown, the club now occupies about 50,000 square feet and has 1,700 youth members.
The club serves an average of 383 youth daily, according to Chief Executive Officer Liz Christianson. That’s about 140,000 annual visits.
An important part of the daily activities are meals with more than 79,000 snacks and meals served as part of the $25 annual membership fee. Inflation has increased demand for those meals and also has caused the club’s food budget to jump significantly.
Among the club’s many services are after school “Power Hour” tutoring sessions, which occur in schools across the city. Additionally, there are specific rooms at the club where academic activities associated with S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics).
The club also has various game rooms separated by age and it even has electronic game teams that recently finished third in a national tournament.
There’s a theater room for movies and two basketball courts that once were shared with the rec center.
There are youth kitchens where organizations such as Master Gardeners, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System dieticians and the Codington County Extension Office come and teach life skills such as cooking and proper diets.
It also has virtual reality headsets that allow students to learn skills such as safe driving and to experience what jobs are like in various industries.
An important part of the club’s activities is its Youth Diversion Program run by Louis Canfield. The program deals with youth misbehavior and offers youth an alternative to the regular justice system.
A significant community concern, Canfield said, is youth smoking, particularly vaping.
He said there had been 350 vaping referrals from the Watertown School system since July 1, “which was 100 more than the previous year, which was 100 more than the year before that,” he said.
More than anything, Christianson said, the Boys and Girls Club offers youth a safe environment as well as ensuring parents their children are safe.
The new facility has security systems built in that were not possible when the recreation center and swimming pool shared similar space.
Because of the club’s growth, the organization now employs 10-12 full time people and 25-30 part time people, Christianson said.
In observance of the 50th Anniversary, the club plans a variety of activities throughout the year. Stay tuned to the club’s Facebook page for upcoming activities.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Boys and Girls Club thriving during their 50th anniversary
