Wichita Falls will soon be home to a fifth Boys and Girls Club after the recent construction of the Eastside facility at 501 N. Rosewood.
The new Boys & Girls Club is set to open March 27 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony — with after school programs beginning immediately. During the week of spring break — March 10-14, the club will offer family tours and membership signups on the spot.
The facility’s official name will be the Eastside Community Center and Boys & Girls Club.
“At a corporate board meeting of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Wichita Falls on April 11, 2018, … longtime board member, past President and Chairman Bob Gunn requested that President Nancy Marks appoint a committee to evaluate the possibility of building a new facility,” Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Randy Cooper stated.
Diann Taylor, the president of the Boys and Girls Club Corporate Board (left) and Randy Cooper, the Boys and Girls Club executive director, stand at the front counter inside the Eastside Boys and Girls Club in Wichita Falls.
Sixteen months later, the plan was completed and presented to the BGCWF Corporate Board in November 2019. The approval led to a BGCWF Capital Campaign with the centerpiece being a new facility to be constructed and improvements to the existing four clubs.
The Eastside club is 20,000 square feet with nine different areas: the teen center, a children’s center, an outdoor recreation area, an open dining room, a teaching kitchen, a dance and art studio, a learning center tech lab and a large gymnasium.
The Eastside Boys and Girls Club located at 501 N. Rosewood Ave. in Wichita Falls. The facility’s official name will be the Eastside Community Center and Boys & Girls Club.
The teen center will include billiards, table tennis, foosball, bumper pool and esports. The children’s center will include the same activities (suited for their ages), as well as carpet ball and a gaming area.
The learning center tech lab will have 20 stations for individuals to sit at and complete assignments.
Boys and Girls Club Corporate Board President Diann Taylor said the lab will serve the students of Booker T. Washington Elementary School.
The teen center inside the Eastside Boys and Girls Club located at 501 N. Rosewood Ave. in Wichita Falls.
“I’m hoping that we’ll know what kids will be coming here regularly — and they can give us something, so we know when that kid comes here we can program that they need math skills, English skills, reading skills, whatever they need,” Taylor said. “That way we can program something to enrich their skills.”
The facility will include a large open dining area where kids can enjoy snacks and meals provided by Wichita Falls Meals on Wheels and delivered by the Wichita Falls Food Bank. Attached to the dining area is a door that leads to the outdoor recreation area. It has a secured fence and gate and will play host to games, cookouts and more.
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Boys and Girls Clubs Eastside location set to open up in March
