Boys and Girls Club gets grant to restart Evergreen program
Boys and Girls Club of Glacier Country youth and staff pose for a photo with Whitefish Community Foundation representatives. The organization received a $100,000 grant from the foundation that will allow it to restart a program in Evergreen. (Courtesy photo)
The Boys and Girls Club of Glacier Country recently received a grant of $100,000 from the Whitefish Community Foundation to expand its program into Evergreen.
The funding will come from the foundation’s Kids Fund, which aims to address education, health and safety of Flathead Valley youth.
The grant provides $50,000 this year, $30,000 next year and $20,000 in the third year, explained Lynnette Donaldson, director of programs and outreach for the Foundation.
The Boys and Girls Club used to have a program in Evergreen, but it had to close a few years ago after the club had financial difficulty.
Club director Mandy Anderson said this program will be housed at the AIM Center in Evergreen and they expect to serve about 75 students as soon as school starts. It will serve all schools in Evergreen, including Helena Flats students, Anderson noted, from kindergarten through eighth grade.
Three to four staffers will be needed to run the program, she said. The club is looking to fill those positions by the start of the school year.
The club also serves Columbia Falls and has about 50 elementary age children in its summer program and another 25 junior high kids. It currently operates out of a former church on Fourth Avenue West, though the organization hopes to expand to a new facility in the future.