‘It’s just super amazing.’ Sneak a peek at $2.5 million teen center opening in Columbus
Camren Williams took a break from his afterschool activities this week at the North Columbus Boys & Girls Club to explain what the new teen center next door will mean to him and his fellow members.
“We’ll have different things we need for the outside world,” Camren, who wants to be a zoologist, told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Camren, a 15-year-old sophomore at Sylvan Learning Academy, smiled as he thought of another reason to look forward to Thursday’s opening of the John F. Flournoy College & Career Center at 1309 29th St.
Instead of having only one room reserved exclusively for teens at the North Columbus branch, the $2.5 million Flournoy Center will have 7,000 square feet of space dedicated to their fun and future.
“We get to separate ourselves from the younger group,” Camren said. “We need our privacy. You really can’t do too much in this room. Plus, hopefully, when the new building opens, we can probably have more (teens) come.”
The new center will enable the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley to exponentially increase the number of teens served at the North Columbus branch, from approximately 20-30 per day now to more than 100, BGCCV vice president for programs and grants Tavari Turner told the L-E.
BGCCV president and CEO heard Turner’s estimate for the new center’s impact on membership and told the L-E, “If there’s a way to draw more kids in, then this should do it.”
Designed by Hecht Burdeshaw Architects and built by Pound Construction, the Flournoy Center and its programs are envisioned to improve the academics, health, character and leadership of its teen members.
The center is named in honor of Flournoy for his more than 50 years serving on the BGCCV board. The organization now has eight facilities throughout Columbus to serve more than 2,500 children ages 5-18.
Tavari called him an “amazing supporter” of the organization’s mission: to help children reach their full potential as responsible, caring and productive citizens.
What the Flournoy Center will offer
The Flournoy Center will allow BGCCV to offer new programs, such as:
ServSafe certification class to work as a manager in the food industry. The BGCCV is discussing with Columbus Technical College the possibility of adding a class for certification in the construction industry, Turner said. Lifeguard, babysitter and information technology certifications are other possibilities, he said.
First Aid CPR certification
Recording studio to create podcasts
E-sports room, where teens can participate in worldwide video game competitions on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch devices.
Conference room with state-of-the-art technology. Desktop computers and Chromebooks available throughout the center.
The BGCCV’s current teen programs at the North Columbus branch also will move to the new center, such as Power Hour for homework help and DIY STEM for hands-on activities in science, technology, engineering and math.
A college and career readiness program helps prepare teens for options after high school, such as college tours, guidance on applying for financial aid and bringing in community leaders to share wisdom from their experience. Also offered are prep courses for the SAT/ACT college entrance exams and assistance with applications for college admission and scholarships.
The new center is a full-service unit like the BGCCV’s other locations, providing daily meals and snacks for members.
Transportation will be provided from the teen center at the South Columbus branch (the J. Barnett Woodruff Boys & Girls Club) for members who want to attend programs at the new facility.
Part of $10.6 million capital campaign
This project culminates the BGCCV’s $10.6 million Great Futures Capital Campaign, which included the purchase of the former Edgewood Elementary School for the relocation of the East Columbus Boys & Girls Club, the renovation of the J. Barnett Woodruff Boys & Girls Club and the refreshing of technology and updating of vehicles throughout the organization.
Close considers this teen center better than the three he helped develop when he worked for the Boys & Girls Clubs in Atlanta. And he is grateful for the approximately 100 donors who made this plan become a reality.
“We’re in a community that cares for kids, that will do anything to make their lives a lot better,” he said. “A lot of our kids come from troubled situations. This gives them an opportunity to really dream big.”
Turner grew up attending the East DeKalb Boys & Girls Club in metro Atlanta. They weren’t nearly as impressive as this one, he said.
“We did a lot of hard work, alongside our board and the community, to kind of bring this to scale,” he said. “Today, standing inside of it, it’s just super amazing to have the opportunity to really provide for young people what even some of us did not have growing up.”
Instead of a teen room, they will have a “state-of-the-art facility they can call their own, where they go after school and know there are caring, compassionate adults working on behalf of them each day,” Turner said. “… I can’t wait to see their faces when they see the hard work the community has pulled off for them.”
