Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County dedicated The Club Teen Center, a new space reserved exclusively for members 13 and older to collaborate with their peers, complete homework, socialize and plan for their future.<\/p>\n
The Club Teen Center, in partnership with Suncoast Credit Union, is a 2,600-square-foot addition to the Park Meadows Community Club, the nonprofit\u2019s flagship location in Fort Myers. The club serves youth ages six through 18, but The Club Teen Center designates space for teens who participate in the After-school Program and Summer Enrichment Program.<\/p>\n
Community leaders, project partners, donors and Boys & Girls Clubs board members joined teenage club members on July 1 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and formal designation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Teen Center is about preparing the next generation of leaders, employees, entrepreneurs and community members,\u201d said Denise Gergley, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County. \u201cHere, our teens will build friendships, develop confidence, strengthen leadership skills, explore career pathways, prepare for college and gain real-world workforce skills through Boys & Girls Club programs like Youth of the Year, Career Launch, Diplomas to Degrees, Money Matters and many more.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Club Teen Center features sofas, tables, chairs and homework stations, as well as a kitchenette, restrooms, televisions and charging ports. The new space can accommodate guest speakers from the community and become a hub for Boys & Girls Clubs\u2019 robust college and career readiness programs.<\/p>\n
Suncoast Credit Union Foundation donated $300,000 to fund The Club Teen Center, which was built by Seagate Development, through Boys & Girls Clubs\u2019 Park Meadows Capital Campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re driving kids to make sure that they have postsecondary success, whether that\u2019s going to college, becoming an entrepreneur or enlisting,\u201d said Jeffrey Kunberger, executive director of the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation and a board member for Boys & Girls Clubs. \u201cWe hope it drives their imagination to think big.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTake advantage of this physical space, take advantage of the symbolic representation and take advantage of the collective strengths of the adults who support you,\u201d advised Jennifer Cupid-McCoy, chief strategy officer for The School District of Lee County and a Boys & Girls Clubs board member.<\/p>\n
In addition to The Club Teen Center, the Park Meadows Community Club also features kid-centric amenities like the creative corner, academic center, STEM room, game room, culinary center, innovation hub and other interactive gathering spaces. Over the past year, Park Meadows has added a covered outdoor playground through GL Homes\u2019 Passion for Playgrounds initiative and a \u201cDream Court\u201d basketball court sponsored by Nancy Lieberman Charities. Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County also will be receiving a state appropriation to construct a hurricane-resistant pavilion over the new basketball court.<\/p>\n About Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County<\/p>\n Established in 1974, Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County serve children and teens through school-based, neighborhood and community club locations. The nonprofit\u2019s mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens. After-school and summer programs focus on five core areas: education and career, service and leadership, health and wellness, the arts, and sports and recreation. For more information, please visit BGClee.org<\/a> or call 239-334-1886.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County dedicated The Club Teen Center, a new space reserved exclusively for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-334319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334319\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}