By Lance Patterson
Kids First
My least recent headshot truly showcases my inner child.
In my roles as CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hutchinson and President of the USD 308 Board of Education, I spend much of my time thinking about how the decisions we make today regarding our youth impact their futures and the vitality of our communities. Each month, I’ll share my thoughts with you.
To kick off this monthly column, I want to highlight the organization that I’ve spent nearly 22 years with—the Boys & Girls Club.
All kids need a place to belong—a place where they can feel useful, be influential, and gain life skills.
For 35 years, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hutchinson has been that place for thousands of kids in our county.
In 1990, a study found that more than 600 kids attending Hutchinson Public Schools headed to empty homes after the school day ended. Kids After School started to address the need, giving elementary school kids a safe place to spend time until their parents were off work.
The organization became a Boys & Girls Club in 1995 and expanded to serve K-12 youth.
A lot of things have changed in 35 years. But when it comes to kids, more things are the same than different.
Kids need a positive place to spend their out-of-school hours. They need relationships with caring adults who believe they can succeed. Kids need opportunities to try new things, to fail and learn from their experiences, and to gain life skills.
Each year, more than 750 kids and teens rely on our Clubs. Unfortunately, even more kids would attend if they could. Right now, 43 students in kindergarten through fourth grade are on our waitlist.
The need exists, but we can’t meet it currently. Serving more kids takes more money and more space.
This summer, a major funding stream for our program was up in the air—21st Century Community Learning Center funds. These are federal dollars administered at the state level through five-year grants. When the funding was in jeopardy, it turned our five-year budget on its head.
Many people in our community and across the country reached out to their federal lawmakers, and thankfully, the funding was continued for this school year. Currently, we’re optimistic about next year as well. Instead of worrying about cuts, we can think about how to raise dollars to serve more kids.
Space is our other limiting factor. Thanks to strong partnerships, we serve kids at two sites. Our teen program is based at Shadduck Park Community Center, a city-owned building where we are the only tenant. Our larger footprint is our K-5 program that runs out of Avenue A School, where almost half of the building is used by our Clubs. That’s the age group where we need more space.
Those of us living in USD 308 boundaries have an opportunity to vote on the school bond issue this fall. The bond will create centralized locations for early learning programs, a combined sixth-through-eighth grade middle school, and upgrades to all of the elementary schools. These changes will allow more opportunities for connections and less confusion for our kids during times of big transitions in their lives.
For the Club, we don’t think anything will change if the bond fails. If it succeeds, we would move our K-5 program to the former Lincoln Elementary School, giving us more space to serve more kids.
Hutchinson needs Club kids. And Club kids need you—your voice, your support, your partnership. Help open the door, so even more kids can walk through and step into their greatness.