Flooding disrupts Jacksonville’s Springfield Boys & Girls Club, affecting 100 children

Flooding damages Jacksonville’s Bridge Boys & Girls Club, disrupting services for 100 children. The cause is unconfirmed; community support is vital for recovery.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Bridge Boys & Girls Club in Jacksonville’s Springfield neighborhood is dealing with extensive damage after flooding hit the building Friday, disrupting a place that serves about 100 children each day.

Club leaders believe a burst pipe may have caused the flooding, but the cause has not been confirmed. Wyatt Parlette, chief operations officer for Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, said staff initially thought the water was coming from a roof leak.

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“Friday morning, we got the call here at the bridge Boys and Girls Club that what they thought was a roof leak initially, and then we learned that a pipe head burst and the entire club was taking on water. It was a scary moment,” said Parlette.

Parlette said the water damaged ceilings and walls and ruined computers, board games and school supplies. Staff members worked to make sure everyone was safely out of the building and contacted JEA to shut off the power.

“We made sure that all team members inside the building, all young people were out of the building. We had JEA come cut all the power and make sure there was no safety issues and then we started to assess and that’s when we realize that kind of whole club had water damage,” said Parlette.

The Bridge has served generations of children in Springfield since 1983, providing homework help, meals, mentorship and a safe place to spend time after school.

The flooding has left club leaders working to determine when the building can safely reopen.

“We can get back into this club soon, but we wanna make sure we do it as safely as possible. So, the timeline right now, we just don’t know. We’re waiting until everything dries out and we’re working with the water remediation companies to make sure everything is safe and then we’ll kinda go from there. We’re blessed to have the NFL YET club down the street to be able to continue to serve,” said Parlette.

In the meantime, Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida is making arrangements for affected children to attend other club locations. Parlette said community support will be important as the organization works to repair the damage and replace essential resources.

“The more we can get the word out and share you know, on social media, like I said we’re just trying to build this place back to where it was before and what our families deserve,” said Parlette.

The cause of the flooding remains unconfirmed, and there is no set timeline for reopening.

People who want to support the organization, click here to donate.