Boys & Girls Clubs open first Northport location at Hasson Center

The Boys & Girls Clubs of West Alabama has expanded its services to the city of Northport.

Boys & Girls Club staff, Northport city officials and others gathered Wednesday at the Robert Hasson Community Center, 1215 Bridge Ave. to celebrate the grand opening of the Hasson Center site.

The Northport Boys & Girls Club now serves nearly 70 children and teens in the community, offering programs that focus on academic success, character and leadership and leading healthy lifestyles.

Boys & Girls Clubs President and CEO Kim Turner said the organization recognized the need for high-quality programming in Northport. Summer program enrollment, which opened in late May, quickly reached maximum capacity at the Hasson Center.

“We have been looking for an opportunity to serve youth in Northport for years because we recognize the need for youth development programs in every part of our local community,” Turner said.

“We are very excited for the partnership we have with the City of Northport and the ability to now welcome children and teens in that area into the Boys & Girls Clubs family,” she said.

The Hasson Center site was opened in cooperation with the City of Northport and Councilman Woodrow Washington, who is a alumni of the Boys Club and attended a Northport-based club site that operated more than 25 years ago.

The center is named after Robert Hasson, Northport's first Black member of the City Council.

Northport Mayor John Hinton said the city gladly welcomes the Boys & Girls Club and its services to the Northport community.

"I think this is a wonderful thing that's happening in Northport. ... We're all about children growing and growing in the right way," Hinton said.

The Hasson Center site marks the organization's seventh location in West Alabama with existing locations in Tuscaloosa, Aliceville, Greensboro, Southview and Moundville. The organization has served West Alabama for more that 62 years.

In addition to academic programs, the Boys & Girls Clubs offer mentoring, field trips and indoor and outdoor activities and more.

For more information, visit bgcwestal.org or email programs@bgcwestal.org.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: 'A wonderful thing': Boys & Girls Clubs open first Northport location