Grant helps club expand to Evergreen
Kids, boardmembers and staff of the Boys and Girls Club of Glacier Country pose with members of the Whitefish Community Foundation recently in front of the Club's facility in Columbia Falls. The foundation gave the club a three-year $100,000 grant to expand into Evergreen. (Chris Peterson photo)
Hungry Horse News
The Boys and Girls Club of Glacier Country recently received a grant of $100,000 from the Whitefish Community Foundation to expand its program into Evergreen.
The funding will come from the Foundation’s Kids Fund, which looks to address education, health and safety of Flathead Valleys youths.
The grant provides $50,000 this year, $30,000 next year and $20,000 in the third year, explained Lynnette Donaldson, director of programs and outreach for the Foundation.
The Boys and Girls Club used to have a program in Evergreen, but it had to close a few years ago after the club had financial difficulty.
Club director Mandy Anderson said this program will be housed at the AIM Center in Evergreen and they expect to serve about 75 students as soon as school starts. It will serve all schools in Evergreen, including Helena Flats students, Anderson noted, from kindergarten through eighth grade.
Three to four staffers will be needed to run the program, she said. The club is looking to fill those positions by the start of the school year.
The Club also serves Columbia Falls and has about 50 elementary age children in its summer program and another 25 junior high kids. It currently operates out of a former church on Fourth Avenue West, though hopes to expand to a new facility in the future.