WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — An ongoing campaign for nearly five years is making major changes to the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita Falls.
“Our journey actually began at a board meeting in April of 2018 when Bob Gunn challenged the board to inquire, ‘Should we build a new facility?'” said Randy Cooper, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita Falls. “Where are our kids in the community? There was a lot of homework.
Ultimately, it was decided that a new facility was needed and would be located off Rosewood Avenue between Marconi St. and Juarez St.
“Our new Rosewood facility will be approximately 20,000 square feet,” Cooper said. “It will be cutting edge. There will be safety features so our children and their families are as safe as possible.
In addition, there will be plenty of lighting and the largest gym of all maple-floored facilities.
That facility will have an art and dance studio as well as a learning center with a technology lab, but that’s not all the capital’s countryside will help.
“The campaign will result in much-needed improvements to our current facilities,” Cooper said. “We will be taking a look at and improving the lighting, examining and improving our exterior and interior finishes, flooring, paint, and replacing some doors and fixtures. Many things to improve our facilities.
Cooper hopes the location of this new facility will also help that part of the city grow.
“Our new facility will impact the children who need it most,” Cooper said. “We are in a targeted area and believe that from the plans we will not only serve that immediate area but are only a short distance from the new high school under construction. We think we’ll hit Sunnyside, Sun Valley, and other quadrants as well.”
With these changes, the hope is to have a huge impact on the lives of the children of the Boys and Girls Club.
The Boys and Girls Club’s goal is $11.5 million, and Cooper said they’ve been very successful and expect to surpass that and hopefully break ground on the new facility at the end of March.
