School would be summer site of new program
There are hopes of a Boys & Girls Club coming to Copper Basin as early as this summer.
Kimberly Goins, director of Community Outreach at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Ocoee Region, says that it is “something they’ve been working toward for a while.” With the need for the club being so apparent in the Basin area, the plan is to get things up and going by summer.
The current plan is to use Copper Basin Elementary School (CBES) as the location for the club, but later on it is likely they will find a new facility to locate the program. CBES Principal Janessa Nipper mentioned that they “are still exploring options.”
The club provides affordable and accessible childcare to first grade through twelfth grade students who need it the most.
In the Basin community, children are often compelled to find friendships and activities on their own due to there being several students who, at home, have little to no adult care or supervision, according to the club’s website. The Boys & Girls Club is a program that may offer these children the opportunity to have a support system. Goins added, “The heart of the organization is ‘turn no child away.’”
To continue moving forward, the program is in need for community, as well as, local government support. The club asks that folks take donating into consideration by stating, “Every day, children face walls of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, abuse, neglect and much more... until an everyday hero steps up and opens a door to a better future.
By signing up to become an everyday hero, your small, monthly donation of $10 or more will ensure that these children can find those open doors.”
Visit www.BGCOcoee.com or call 423-559-8299 to donate or to learn more about the local Boys & Girls Club.