Boys and Girls Club celebrating 40 years in the Battlefords
The Boys and Girls Club will be celebrating 40 years in the Battlefords next week, but community members may need to step up if they want to see another 40 years.
Executive director Nicole Combres said the amount of children needing the club’s services continues to increase, and funding isn’t quite keeping up. In September 2015 there were 259 after-school visits at the club’s main site and that number almost tripled this year with 711 visits in September.
“We’ve all seen a hit in the economy so we’ve seen a decline in our revenue for various reasons,” she said. “The need for our free of charge services has increased and we know there are families in our community struggling to provide the basic necessities for their children and they’re coming to us to help with that.”
The club launched a “40 for 40” fundraising campaign this summer to promote a monthly donation option and celebrate the 40 years serving the Battlefords. People can now donate a certain amount of money each month, rather than making individual donations. The suggested donation amount is $40 for the campaign, but Combres stressed even a dollar per month will help children in the community access nutrition and services.