‘Leadership, Fitness and Service:’ Boys and Girls Club of Ukiah Fund Drive continues

The Ukiah Boys and Girls Club cares for over 130 children during the school year and more than 100 in the summer. This year’s Ukiah Daily Journal Fund Drive seeks to raise $65,000 to assist the club with program operations. (Contributed photos)

The “Triple Play” philosophy of the Boys and Girls Club of Ukiah – leadership, fitness and service – are the tenets that drive the organization. That’s the reason that the Ukiah Daily Journal has repeatedly selected the club as one of two local organizations that we support with an annual fund drive. Currently, this year’s fund drive has raised $24,385 with a goal of $65,000.

“We desperately need funding to keep the doors open,” says the club’s CEO Julie Whalen.

In addition to providing an afterschool program during the school year, the fund drive helps to support the club’s summer program.

“Funding is needed for the summer program’s materials and supplies. Additionally, we take field trips to spots like the park pool and the theater. The program is all-day, so costs add up quickly while our daily cost to families continues to be the best bargain in town,” Whalen continues. “This summer, we anticipate serving about 100 children daily.”

Food costs are one of the biggest line items on the club’s budget.

“We need funding to provide healthy meals and snacks. Panda Express, Mountain Mike’s Pizza and Ukiah Thai Cuisine have been very kind to the club. The South Ukiah Rotary and the Ukiah Lions Club will be participating this summer. We love having more summer volunteers and currently have a couple of positions open for Youth Development Professionals. These are wonderful, entry-level opportunities for people who want to broaden their education in child development,” says Whalen.

“It’s a given that we don’t have a bowling alley anymore. We don’t have the skating rink anymore. Movies are expensive, and not every kid likes the skatepark. There are a few great kid-centered organizations like SPACE, but in terms of providing daily, affordable afterschool and summer programming for families, we are the only organization that offers that service to our community,” says Whalen. “Our summer program provides something remarkable for kids and working families that no other organization in our area offers –  learning opportunities, food, fun, sports, field trips, arts and crafts and special activities.”

“This summer, we are focusing on our teen entrepreneurial program with our lemonade stand at Sundays in the Park. This program needs funding so that the kids can be paid for their participation. They’ll be doing everything: figuring out cost factors, setting up and tearing down, creating job descriptions, preparing the lemonade and staffing the stand,” says Whalen.

The club is known for their annual Chili Cookoff (scheduled for Sept. 6) and their annual golf tournament, but even with these successful fundraisers, the club depends upon the Daily Journal’s fund drive to survive.

“Many people may not know that we are a private, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. We fundraise every penny we receive. We are part of the Boys and Girls Club National organization, but it does not provide us with funding,” notes Kay Richards, president of the club’s Board of Directors.

The Boys and Girls Club of Ukiah is a tenant of the Alex Rorabaugh Recreation Center.

“The lovely building we are in was built by the ARRC, and our club is located on school property, so facility use and structure falls under the Education Code. Because of that, and because of the nature of our organization, we are responsible for a lot of reporting,” Richards continues.

“We’re grateful for our partnership with the ARRC for our site operations,” says Whalen.

JoAnna Smith applied for a job at the Boys and Girls Club when she was about 19. Prior to that, she’d spent time babysitting neighborhood kids and relatives. Her mother always knew she would be a nurse or a teacher.

“Funding is necessary to meet our overhead and most importantly, to provide for the safety of our club kids. We must comply with local, state, national and corporate compliance issues. All staff are certified with CPR and child abuse prevention training. We are obligated to implement almost all the requirements that it takes to run a school. This is a complex organization to run,” Smith continues.

Richards notes that the club performs another little-known service to the community – training young people to become successful employees and community leaders.

“We hire young people at minimum wage to become Youth Development Professionals. That’s the name of the position because that’s how we see our young people,” says Richards. “We have high school students working here who have the energy and the motivation to work with our youth. This was the first place my niece JoAnna was employed. She then got a job as a teacher at NCO Head Start and now she’s a Head Start Site Supervisor.”

“I was initially hired by the club for the summer to work on the floor with the children,” says JoAnna Smith. During that summer, staff recognized her abilities, and she received a promotion, becoming a program lead.

“While I was working at the club, the organization had to shut down due to a lack of funding. This was in 2008. During that time, I applied for a position at Head Start. My mom, Kathy Smith, was a club board member. She was worried about how we could raise enough money to get the club back up and running. She started the Adventist Health fundraising effort. We received enough funds to reopen the club, and at the same time, I was offered a teaching job at Head Start.”

Smith ended up getting offered that position several times, but something kept her from taking the job.

“I declined twice because I felt like it was important to get the club running smoothly. Head Start called me again, offered me the job again, and gave me a couple weeks to make the decision. I decided to take the job, and ended up being a teacher for 15 years before I accepted the position of Site Supervisor last June.”

Because of her position as a teacher and a supervisor, and because both her mother and aunt have spent years working as board members, Smith has had decades to evaluate the success of the Boys and Girls Club – from the perspective of an employee, an educator and a supporter.

“I think the club is an affordable, realistic and reliable resource for families. It’s really a lifesaver for working parents and families who don’t have a backup childcare plan, and the club offers so much – from providing healthy meals and snacks to exposing kids to all kinds of activities and experiences they might not necessarily get exposed to at home.”

Smith has a very specific memory of the club which has been indelibly etched into her mind and heart.

“I remember a little boy who came from a very challenging home environment. His father was really struggling to do the best he could. Back then, Grace Hudson School was providing our meals. The boy was walking back to the club from the cafeteria with two oranges in his hands. I told him he needed to finish his oranges outside. He looked at me and he looked at the oranges. He said, ‘What are these?’ I told them what they were. He was shocked. He said, ‘You can eat them? I thought they were balls.’ We sat there outside while he ate oranges for the first time. He was amazed at how they tasted.”

“I didn’t know it then, but clearly my mom was right about my future. I did become a teacher, and the Boys and Girls Club had a big part to play in that decision,” Smith concludes.

These are the kinds of experiences that happen at the club, and these are the kinds of experiences we hope you will help to foster, so that youth and families in our community can continue to rely upon having a safe, supportive and creative “home away from home.”

To give to the campaign, send donations to Boys and Girls Club of Ukiah, P.O. Box 67, Ukiah, CA 95482. Donations can also be dropped off at the UDJ office at 415A Talmage Road. As always we will print donors’ names as our way of thanking them for their help, unless anonymity is requested. No donation is too small (or too large).

Thank you all for keeping this important local Boys and Girls Club alive.

Editor’s note: Due to a typographical error, an incorrect fund drive total was reported last week. Donations currently stand at $24,385, toward the fund drive goal of $65,000.