Ground-breaking ceremony Thursday for Boys & Girls Club Teen Center

The foundation stone for the Boys & Girls Club Teen Center will be held on Thursday at 4:30 pm

The center will be located at 8828 Gurley Road at Hunter Memorial Park. All are invited.

Speakers for the event is William Lampley, chief operating officer of Metro Atlanta Boys & Girls Club, Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller, City Manager Bill Osborne and Douglas County Club director Steve Hord.

Winners of the essay contest "Why we need a Teen Center" will read their essays at the ceremony.

The local club received $ 500,000 in Community Development Block Grant in September, with matching funds from the city government. The center will complement the existing club and the only of its kind in Douglas County, said Davida Walker, a member of the club's board of directors.

"Teens in the club finally have a proper place, including a steering room, learning center, music video studio, cultural environment room and fitness area, along with three new offices, cafeteria and turnover in the area of adolescents and regular club members, "Walker said.

Adolescents comprise approximately 40 percent of the 536 club members, program director Stephanie Parker, said in an earlier interview. The center will be 6,000 square feet, he said.

Walker said the center will allow professional and trained staff to continue working with youth programming Boys & Girls Club of America, with special attention to six key areas: professional development and leadership, character and development of education, health and life skills, arts and cultural enrichment, sports, fitness and recreation, and outdoor and environmental education.

The club continues its fundraising campaign, "Be The One ... to make a lasting difference in the life of a child." Donors can fill out a compromise, a monument to purchase $ 50, brick legacy, a grant or create a lasting legacy through the purchase of a naming opportunity for the center, according to Walker.

"I am so humbled and honored to be part of this project," he said. "The Teen Center Campaign Cabinet, the club's board and supporters of the community who are working diligently together to make the teen center in reality are visionaries who recognize the need for" a place where you live the Promise "to our teens and youth are our future decision makers, leaders and caregivers. hope to see you there. "

The Douglas County club has been in the community for over 25 years. The members are 17 percent higher GPA, and 51 percent of children joining the club's stay through high school, Walker said.

More information about the breakdown of land available for David Kazanowski at 770-577-9824. Donatons the club may be sent to Douglas County Boys & Girls Club, Attention: Construction of Teen Center Campaign, 8828 Gurley Road, Douglasville, Georgia 30,134.

Additional information about the teen center fund-raising campaign is available at www.bgcma.org/view/club/51.