‘To
inspire & enable all
young people’
GRAND OPENING Otto Schoitz Teen & Education Center 803 E, Fourth St., Waterloo 4 p.m. Dec. 19 Open to the public
2 | Sunday, December 1, 2019
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
OTTO SCHOITZ TEEN & EDUCATION CENTER
OPENING DOOR TO
POSSIBILITIES
FOR YOUTH AT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS MELODY PARKER
B
melody.parker@wcfcourier.com
eing a teenager can be awkward. But making the transition from child to young adult can be confusing and challenging enough without having to navigate personal circumstances and potential obstacles in the path of an education, experiences or opportunities. At 4 p.m. Dec. 19, the door is opening to new possibilities and a public open house at the Otto Schoitz Teen and Education
Center. The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley’s new facility is located at 803 E. Fourth St., across the street from East High School. “We’re really excited, and the community support has been great. We have a great team assembled that will have a focus on organization, character and leadership development, career and college readiness, and we’re connecting with our partners, including John Deere Co. and Waterloo Community Schools, to propel these young people into their future,” said James Lee III
BRANDON POLLOCK PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Construction continues at the Teen Center with plans for a Dec. 19 grand opening.
Sunday, December 1, 2019 | 3
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
chief executive officer. Jim Clark, president and CEO at Boys and Girls Club of America will be in Waterloo to attend the opening and dedication ceremony. “We’re thrilled that he is coming here to help us celebrate this accomplishment that we did as a community,” Lee said. The Otto Schoitz Foundation awarded a $1 million grant for the initiative. Approximately $6.2 million was raised through a fundraising campaign to build the $2.5 to $3 million facility and renovate existing facilities at 515 Lime St. The club also has received donations from such local foundations and trusts as the McElroy Trust, the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, the Young Family Foundation and trusts established by the Christensen and Gallagher families. Board member Christa Miehe served as Boys & Girls Club board president during the campaign. She describes the teen center opening as “a dream come true. I joined the Boys & Girls Club board more than 10 years ago, and we were talking about the need for improved teen services even way back then,” said Miehe, president of marketing and shared services for the VGM Group “The conversations over the past 10 years have centered around the growing attendance at the club, that kids who started as first graders have stayed involved at the club through their junior high and high school years. And it turns out that 6 year olds and 16 year olds have different needs and interests and should be treated as uniquely different populations,” she explained. Currently about 100 teens are served with a participation rate of 60 percent. Many kids may have been active at the club for a number of years, but feel they’ve outgrown activities organized for younger members. The new center provides teens with their own clubhouse, Lee explained, and will likely attract new members. “We want to provide teenagers with a safe and positive environment where they can explore what their future can look like. Whether it’s preparing for college, learning new skills, choosing a career or fig-
Teen Center programming BGCA Programming Diplomas to Degrees Keystone Club We also have the following designated spaces;
Gymnasium, Art Room, STEM Room, Computer Lab, Music Room and Theatre for business presentations. We will provide college visit opportunities, career fairs and test prep space. uring out a direction for their lives, or simply having a place to do their homework with access to a laptop computer, we want to be there to provide support, especially for teens in east Waterloo,” Lee explained. Philip Nash served as capital campaign chair for the Teen Center Building and Capital Campaign. “The project has been in the works longer than I’ve been around, and the community has seen this as a need for a very long time,” said Nash, market president and principal business relationship manager for Wells Fargo Commercial Banking. When the fundraising campaign was launched, “nothing could have prepared us for the immediate and overwhelming support from the community. Individuals, businesses and philanthropic organizations eagerly jumped on board and asked how they could help. We understood right away that this was seen as a transformational project for the Cedar Valley,” Nash explained. Miehe agreed. “We had overwhelming success with our capital campaign, raising more than $2 million over our initial goal. So many people came together to make this Teen and Education Center a reality so that we can continue to fulfill the Boys & Girls Club mission of inspiring and enabling all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, responsible Please see YOUTH, Page 4
Letter from the CEO
D
ear Cedar Valley Community, As we come upon the end of 2019, we are ecstatic to look back at the past year and what has been accomplished. It has been a time of transition, growth and new opportunities within Boys & Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley. On Dec. 19, we will be hosting our Grand Opening event for our new Teen & Educational Center. This is the culmination of years of hard work, all wrapped up into one building. The Teen & Educational Center is the main product of the Together We Can Capital Campaign, in which the Cedar Valley community not only helped us to reach our first fundraising goal of $4 million, but reach our third goal of $6 million dollars! As we also look back at the past year, this is a great time for us to give thanks for the many things that we have been blessed with. We give thanks to the community for always believing in our mission. We give thanks to our financial supporters for continuing to fund our high-quality programs. We give thanks to our community partners who bring their ideas and talents to the club. We give thanks to our board for providing great leadership and countless hours of service and volunteering. We give thanks to our staff for showing up with a smile on their face ready to make an impact in yet another child’s life every day. And we give thanks to the parents for trusting us to provide a safe space with scheduled programming that will produce productive, responsible and caring citizens. When we think back over the past year, it is amazing to think we have come this far, but we won’t stop. Our tag line for 2020 is “Whatever It Takes,” and we are dedicated to doing “Whatever It Takes” to provide services for our kids. So as we close 2019, we look to 2020, we look to the community, donors, partners, board, staff, and parents. We see your time, treasure and talents; we know you, too, have it within yourselves to do “Whatever It Takes.” We have big plans and want you to be a part of it, come along with us and do “Whatever It Takes” to produce the next generation of productive, responsible and caring citizens from the Cedar Valley. My best, James Lee III CEO Boys & Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley
4 | Sunday, December 1, 2019
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
Youth From Page 3
and caring citizens,” she said The new two-story building, just around the corner from the Lime Street facility, has been built by Cardinal Construction. There will be a “soft opening,” followed by the grand opening event. Four new staff positions will be added when the facility opens. Cardinal Construction President Katy Susong serves on the club’s board, so she has felt a personal connection to the project since the outset. “Understanding what this is going to bring to the community and to reach a group of kids that we’re not reaching effectively, it’s been fun to be part of it,” Susong said. Cardinal did some pro bono work at the front end of the process, Susong said, before construction actually began. “Community involvement is important for Cardinal, which has been operating out of Waterloo for 123 years. We saw the value in this project, and it’s important to give back.”
Artist’s rendering of open workspace and pantry at the Teen Center. Overall, the Boys and Girls Club of the Cedar Valley serves about 700 youths each year. Their mission is to provide a holistic approach through programming and activities in five core areas: Character and leadership development, education and career development, health and life skills, the arts and sports, fitness and recreation. The club provides a safe place to hang out, study and do homework, as well as have fun and make friends after school
and during the summer, Lee said. There are locations in Evansdale, Holmes Junior High in Cedar Falls and Sacred Heart School. The teen center color scheme is the same as the main club — blues, lime green, orange, gray and a shade of magenta. “Those are recognizable colors that give us a clubhouse feel. Whenever you step inside the door, you’ll know instantly that you’re in our club,” Lee said. The new center will have space for
Congratulations Boys & Girls of the Cedar Valley on your new Facility
1510 Falls Ave., Waterloo 319-234-2580
tutoring, computer and digital graphics skills development, music creativity, college testing preparation, counseling, direct homework assistance, mentoring, a makers’ space, a gym and supervised recreational space. There is Wi-Fi access so students can do their homework on their school district-provided laptops. “That’s a valuable resource in the community, and we’re excited about being able to respond to community needs and be accessible to the community,” Lee said. In 2018, 25,000 meals were provided through the club’s partnership with the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. With the addition of a café in the new facility, Lee expects to serve more teens. On the second floor, the facility will have several classrooms, an open workshop/game space, and an art corner and music room. Lee said the additional space will provide opportunities to host guest speakers, workshops and increase involvement by mentors, volunteers and local employers. “We want to leverage our support to make a greater impact. We aren’t trying to ‘silo’ ourselves away from the community,” he explained.
Sunday, December 1, 2019 | 5
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
FIVE CORE AREAS OF PROGRAMMING AT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS Volunteer Opportunities:-
Club members volunteer in the community constantly. Whether they are helping maintain community gardens, reading to senior groups, cleaning up parks or feeding the homeless, it is clear they are very passionate about helping others.
STEM: We offer fun clubs
to encourage youth to build skills in STEM-related fields, including our weather club, chess club, science club, cooking club, summer camping and more.
Proud to be a part of this project. BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Charidy Donald, left, Daytrell Jefferson and JaQuwan Donald jump rope in the gym at the Boys and Girls Club.
CHARACTER & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Programs in this area strive to encourage youth to develop a positive self-image, establish meaningful relationships during interactions with Club and community. We also encourage youth in this program to engage in the democratic process and become culturally aware and respectful toward their own and others’ cultural identities.
EDUCATION & CAREER DEVELOPMENT We work with young people to explore their abilities and apply these skills to real-world situations. We help them understand basic educational disciplines and familiarize them with technology to show how it can help them personally and professionally.
HEALTH & LIFE SKILLS
We care about health, which is why this program focuses on educating members on living positive, successful lives as
self-sufficient adults who can life-changing. Here, young set personal goals and foster people can learn and grow in a their own well-being. safe space that welcomes youth from all communities. THE ARTS Here are a few examples of Programs in the Arts enable programs you may see at our young people to hone their locations: creativity and develop their Power Hour: A homework assistance and academic supworld view through knowledge port resource. and appreciation of visual and performing arts, crafts and cre- Computers: Club members ative writing. participate in internet safety
SPORTS, FITNESS & RECREATION
classes, music editing, Photoshop and more. Technology is always evolving and now our children can evolve with it, too.
Athletic competition and fitness programs can provide many benefits for our youth. Performing Arts: Club members can engage in performThe Sports, Fitness and Recing arts activities by taking reation programs we offer will lessons in modern dance, develop fitness abilities, soballet, trumpet, cello, violin, cial skills, positive use of leidrums or piano. sure time, as well as encourage stress management and appre- Athletics: Club members ciation of the environment. enjoy participating in our basketball and flag football Examples of leagues as well as a variety of fitness and sports clinics programming that are led by professional Boys & Girls Clubs of the trainers, the Waterloo Black Cedar Valley use the five core Hawks and a variety of Uniareas of programming to deversity of Northern Iowa athvelop activities for club memletic teams. bers that are safe, fun and
Blackhawk Automatic Sprinklers, Inc. over 45 Years of Service • In House Design & Fabrication • Fire Sprinkler Contractor • Installation • Maintenance • Inspections
(319) 266-7721 525 East 18th St. Cedar Falls, IA www.blackhawksprinklers.com
6 | Sunday, December 1, 2019
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
Volunteer at Boys & Girls Club BRANDON POLLOCK PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Renovations on the second floor at the Boys and Girls Club.
RENOVATIONS at 515 Lime St. main facility At the same time the Teen Center was being built and soon completed, the main Boys and Girls Club facility at 515 Lime St., has been undergoing some renovations. Administrative offices are being renovated, and the computer room and other gathering spots on the second floor have been updated and revamped to meet needs of current and future club members.
Volunteers are the beating heart of any nonprofit organization, and we are blessed to have great volunteers to help us continue our mission of providing opportunities and programming for the young people of the Cedar Valley. However, we are always looking for more volunteers to continue to help our programs reach new heights. Whether you’re an individual looking to spend a couple extra hours helping your community or part of a business that wants to create volunteer opportunities for yourself and other employees, there are plenty of ways you can help Boys & Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley: One-on-one mentoring once a week Play in the gym or game room with members Lead an arts and crafts project Help with maintenance projects around the club Talk about your career paths with teens
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB SITES WATERLOO Boys & Girls Club of the Cedar Valley main location 515 Lime St. Waterloo, IA 50704 234-2839 Hours: 2:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. TEEN CENTER 803 E. Fourth St. Hours: To be announced HIGHLAND ELEMENTARY
Renovations also are under way in the administrative offices at the Boys and Girls Club.
812 Idaho St. Waterloo, IA 50703 Renovations on the second floor at the Boys and Girls Club.
939-3336 Hours: 3:35 to 6:35 p.m.
Support our club’s mission Mission statement o inspire & enable all young peoT ple, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.
aking a financial donation is M a great way to ensure that children at our clubs continue to receive amazing programming that helps them develop skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. So that we can ensure that we reach those who need us most, parents invest only $30 for each kid (or $10 for teens). We then need help investing $1586 for each kid to fund their member-
ship for an entire year, allowing them to learn and grow in a safe space. Great Futures start here, and we are committed to our kids through our Great Futures Annual Fund Drive. Chelsea Szczyrbak, Chief Mission Engagement Officer Chelsea@cedarvalleyclubs.org (319) 234-2839 3117 Greenhill Circle Cedar Falls, IA 50613
SACRED HEART 620 W. 5th St. Waterloo, IA 50702 234-6593 Hours: 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. EVANSDALE 3574 Lafayette Road Evansdale, IA 50707 234-2455 Hours: 3:35 to 6 p.m. SUMMER HOURS AT ALL LOCATIONS: 8:30am-5:00pm WWW.CEDARVALLEYCLUBS.ORG
Sunday, December 1, 2019 | 7
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF THE CEDAR VALLEY STAFF MEMBERS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Board president is Chris Holahan. Officers are: Katy Susong, first vice president; Phil Nash, second vice president; Shay Caley, treasurer; Shawna Rowe, secretary; Christa Miehe, past board president.
F irst Row: Mikaela Heikens, Erin Hinton, Cory Folkers, Emi Banes, Madi Belille Second Row: James Lee III, Clarissa Reiners, Brenda Vavroch, Bryan Burton, Chelsea Szczyrbak, Juanisha McNeil, David Setzer II
Board members are: Andy Kettman, Ben Jacobson, Chris Hurley, Chris Western, Dodie Young, Mike Hulme, Jason Witham, Capt. Joe Leibold, Julie Davies, Kent McCausland, Leon Mosley, Marty Metcalf, Patti Cutts, Randy Kraayenbrink, Robyn Rowenhorst, Ryan Backes, Ryan Meyer, Tabetha Gehrke and Zach Shimp.
here for good. For over 60 years, the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa has been here for good. We connect people to the causes they care about and help nonprofit partners create long-term, reliable sources of income through the establishment of charitable endowed funds, like the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley Youth Development Fund.
Congratulations to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley We are honored to be a partner in the completion of the Otto Schoitz Teen & Education Center and in helping sustain its impact on Cedar Valley youth today and for future generations!
Through the visionary generosity of people who love where they live, we have granted over $95 million to nonprofits enriching our communities.
BE A FORCE FOR GOOD Confirmed in Compliance with National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations.
319-287-9106 cfneia.org
8 | Sunday, December 1, 2019
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW
Boys & Girls Club of the Cedar Valley Teen & Educational Center INVISION applauds the service and work you do in our community. Thank you for allowing us to partner with you.
ENRICHING LIVES THROUGH ARCHITECTURE
invisionarch.com
www.cardinalconst.com
CONGRATULATIONS
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF THE CEDAR VALLEY ON THE GRAND OPENING OF YOUR NEW TEEN CENTER Thank you for allowing us serve as your Contractor on this exciting project. Best wishes for success from all of us at Cardinal Construction!