Grant will allow Boys & Girls Club to expand services
K'shawni Holman cuts out her project at the Boys and Girls Club Thursday. The Boys and Girls Club received a grant that will allow the club to be open during the daytime for kids in distance learning programs.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
Erick Remigo works on a project at the Boys and Girls Club Thursday. The club received a grant that will allow it to provide support for kids in distance learning programs.
Eidyn Prather works on a project at the Boys and Girls Club Thursday. The club received a grant to help expand its program to help kids in distance learning.
K'shawni Holman works on a project at the Boys and Girls Club Thursday. The club received a grant that will allow it to be open during the day to help kids in distance learning.
MOSES LAKE — A $142,685 grant will give the Boys & Girls Clubs of The Columbia Basin the opportunity to help kids and their families working through some of the challenges of online learning.
Executive Director Kim Pope said the grant will allow the club to open from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. every weekday, likely when schools resume in January, for kids whose parents are working and can’t be home, for parents who can’t provide the academic support kids need, or for families having trouble with internet connectivity.
“This grant is a godsend,” Pope said. “We were overwhelmed.”
The daytime program will be offered at the McGraw Clubhouse only. It’s at Park Orchard Elementary, 417 N. Paxson Drive.
Since September, the Boys & Girls Club has been open to kids after about 3 p.m., when school is dismissed. And since September, Boys & Girls Club officials have been looking for a way to be open during the day for kids who are going to school online.
“We know the need is there,” Pope said.
Some kids are at home alone because their parents are working, or their parents can’t help them with their schoolwork, she said. Other children don’t have reliable internet connections. And, if employees can’t help kids with homework, Pope said, they can direct kids where they can find help. The club upgraded its internet service to accommodate the anticipated load.
The Boys & Girls Club could be able to help families.
“I think that we fill that gap. Gladly fill that gap,” Pope said.
The program will be open to 60 children.
“At no cost to the families,” she said.
Families will have to provide transportation for children.
Due to the need to train staff, the program probably will start after the Christmas break, she said. The grant should pay for the daytime program through the end of the 2020-21 school year.
The Boys & Girls Club applied for the grant in partnership with the Moses Lake School District, which committed to providing support for the program.
The grant was awarded by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. It was one of 40 grants awarded statewide. A press release from OSPI said priority was given to applicants providing direct services to students.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
