Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada exceeds goal for funding teen center

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada not only met but exceeded the amount of money it needed to build a teen center.

To get the $1.2 million grant from the William N. Pennington Foundation, the Clubs had to raise at least $400,000. But Laurie Gorris, the club’s chief professional officer, said it has raised $485,000 and is hoping to raise more for the project.

“A lot of people came forward,” Gorris said.

That includes an individual who donated $100,000 to the center but wished to remain anonymous.

Gorris said the clubs hope to start construction in September and finish as early as January or February.

She said the teen center will be connected to the east side of the existing Boys and Girls Clubs on Russell Way. The 6,000 square foot building will feature a computer lab, tech-lab, a café and other amenities aimed at teenagers. She said with the extra money, the clubs might be able to do a loft area as well.

The center will replace the teen center in the current 12,000 square foot building that amounts to about 200 square feet.

The reason for the campaign is simple, Gorris said, “for teenagers in Carson City, there’s nowhere to go. In the summer months, they just hang out.”

Because it’s going to be their center, Gorris said a number of teens who go to the Boys & Girls Clubs were involved in the design. They visited centers in the Reno area and, she said, “came back with a lot of ideas.”

She said teens aren’t just older children, they need different services and programs the new center is going to be designed to provide.

To claim the grant from the Pennington Foundation, the club had to raise 25 percent of the $1.6 million cost by Aug. 1.

Gorris said the fundraising drive is still ongoing because it’s going to cost money to run the teen center.

‘“We’d like to have a little operating money in the bank,” Gorris said.

Next door to the center is the multi-purpose athletic center being built by the city. That $8.5 million project is slated for completion by the end of the year.