A stiff breeze blew toy hardhats off the heads of children outside the Boys and Girls Clubs of Porter County’s Duneland Club Thursday afternoon, but that didn’t stop their excitement, or the excitement of the adults, gathered for a groundbreaking the new center.
“You get an idea of why we need this place,” said board chair Larry Moore as children streamed out of the building at 521 W. County Road 1100 North.
The Boys and Girls Clubs started providing services in Duneland nine years ago, on the lower level of a local church, Moore said, moving to the current facility, a former church, in the summer of 2015.
When the expansion is complete in January, the new facility will be 22,000 square feet with additional outdoor space on more than 9 acres, officials said.
“And guess what? It’s already going to be full,” Moore said.
The community has raised more than $3 million of the $4 million necessary for the expansion, officials said.
Nine years of strategic planning went into expanding the club, said Tim Rice, co-chair of the capital campaign committee, who was joined by his wife, Shelly, also a co-chair, and their daughter Georgia, who is a member of the Duneland Club.
The average number of kids using the club on any day last month was 196, he said, calling the club “an incredible success story.”
“You inspire me. Every time I come in here to give a tour, I get motivated,” Rice said, addressing the kids. “This community cares about you and wants you to leave your mark on this world, and we’re going to do everything we can to help you do that.”
The expanded facility will be a flagship for other clubs in the country, featuring a two-story rock climbing wall, a digital recording studio, a gym and other amenities, said Ryan Smiley, president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Porter County.
“These are things that are not only relevant with kids today, but with kids in the future,” he said.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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For more information on the Boys and Girls Clubs of Porter County, go to www.bgcpoco.org.
