Aug. 6, 2003 – To meet national standards as well as parameters set by its corporate board of directors, the Virgin Islands Boys & Girls Clubs organization has begun efforts to develop a new 25,000-square-foot facility on St. Thomas.
"We feel that the present St. Thomas facility will not be able to accommodate the growing ratio of children under 18," the territorial club's executive director, Nickole Trawick, said. "We are hoping to allow more children to join the club, and we also want to implement additional after-school programs."
Two of the organization's goals are to help raise the territory's scores on national reading tests and lower the juvenile crime rate locally. It is partnering with individuals in the community who support these goals, including Sen. Roosevelt David, who put out a release last month expressing his enthusiasm about the impact the club has had in working with young people on the mainland.
Trawick explained that there is a single corporate board in the territory, and its function "is to oversee all the clubs in the Virgin Islands." She said she and the board have established a steering committee to identify possible sites for the planned St. Thomas facility.
The organization has had a presence on St. Croix for 30 years and has been actively involved in the island's recycling program since the 1980s, Trawick said. "The club has owned the recycling center in Anna's Hope since the late '80s or early '90s, and we work with the Planning and Natural Resources Department and the Anti-litter and Beautification program," she said.
There are two clubs on St. Croix — one with facilities in Times Square in Christiansted and the other in Hannah's Rest near the Two Brothers-Campo Rico section on the island's West End. It was four years ago that the first Boys & Girls Club program was set up on St. Thomas, at the Bovoni housing community. Its focus was on reading and other tutoring help for youngsters as well as mentoring and recreational activities.
"Last year, we moved to Fireburn Hill," Trawick said of the St. Thomas club, to the structure on Nordsidevej that previously had served as a juvenile detention facility.
The programs on St. Croix currently serve about 200 young people, she said, while about 45 youngsters are involved in the one on St. Thomas. The new facility planned for St. Thomas will be able to accommodate "about 300 to 500 children," she said, and the organization believes the potential exists to reach out to a population that large.
So far there are no plans to open a club on St. John, Trawick said, although the organization has been "looking into how many kids could be served, how much corporate support there would be, and what the time needs would be."
"The process has started," Delbert Hewitt, corporate board president, says of the move to develop the St. Thomas center. "Meetings have already begun with the board and the club directors … We have been working on getting the investors lined up and the unit boards in place."
"We have several areas we've looked at and are waiting to hear back on as far as bids," Trawick said, noting that a central location that's easily accessible to children from as many schools as possible would be preferred.
Funding for the new center will come entirely from private and corporate donations and grants, Trawick said, as is the case with all Boys & Girls Clubs resources and programs.
"We have already identified a few donations," she said. "Of course, it will take hundreds of thousands of dollars for a project like this — but we're confident that we're getting there."
Jacob Spell, a researcher on David's staff, said the senator's office has been "working quite a bit with the national organization" of the Boys & Girls Clubs. "They've been helping us with the things that we need to do," he said, in terms of providing support for the development of the new facility.
Spell added: "It's not going to be an 'if.' It's going to be a 'when.'"
And, he said, "We also would encourage anyone who wishes to make a donation to do so." For major benefactors who make significant donations, he said, there is always the possibility that a facility or a portion thereof "will be named after them."
For background about the national organization, visit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Web site. For more information about the local club programs, call Trawick at 778-8990 on St. Croix or the St. Thomas facility at 715-3052.
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