POLSON — The New Boys and Girls Club in Polson is making significant progress with hopes of opening in September.
At just under 23,000 square feet the new facility will soon have the capacity to serve more than 200 kids a day.
Land used for the project was donated by St. Joseph’s Medical Center with construction on the nearly 23,000 square foot facility starting last September. Thanks to a mild winter, Boys and Girls Club executive director Aric Cooksley said construction for the project is on time and expects to be finished in September of this year.
“Things are moving right along, always a project like this takes a while to get out of the ground but once it comes out of the ground it’s really moving along, and we are still on schedule for opening [at the] beginning of next school year,” said Cooksley.
Cooksley said the new facility will feature a new gymnasium, music room, art center and more. He added that community support through private donations and public fundraising helped put the project just short of its $5.1 million goal.
“And we’re very close to our overall goal, which is just over $5 million, we’re about $350,000 left to have this finished and be completely debt-free,” said Cooksley.
Once completed, the club will serve kids ranging from ages six to 18. Cooksley added that the Boys and Girls Club will also create great opportunities for adults to start volunteering.
“A great location for a lot of people to be able to volunteer in an environment that is welcoming and has the capacity to meet a lot of needs,” said Cooksley.
The new Boys and Girls Club is located across the street from Polson Middle School. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held this fall to celebrate the completion of the new building.
