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By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune October 15. 2014 7:04PM Boys & Girls Clubs bursting at the seams From left, Marley Patterson, Maleah White-Santos (red shirt), Mae Woodward, Adaya Stryker, Tellayla Nelson and Reese Swales-Buckmaster have some fun Wednesday during the Boys & Girls Club's afterschool program at Talent Elementary School. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Wednesday afternoon, seven staff members had their hands full supervising 159 energetic youths, ages 5 to 12, at the Talent Boys & Girls Club. There were kids eating chicken tacos and peaches in the cafeteria, kids playing soccer outside, kids on the playground and kids playing games in Room 14, the one classroom at Talent Elementary School dedicated to the Boys & Girls Club. “Last year, we were averaging 110 to 120 kids every day,” said Megan Servoss, the Talent club’s senior program director. “Now, we are seeing 155 to 165 kids every day.” The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Rogue Valley, which includes clubs in Talent, Grant Pass and Cave Junction, is bursting at the seams, forcing administrators to re-evaluate funding, staffing and facilities. “In 2013, we were seeing about 425 kids a day, and this year, on the same date, we were seeing about 522 kids clubwide,” said Executive Director Diann Gilbertson. “That’s about a 24 percent increase overall.” Gilbertson said capping the number of kids attending each club or raising the cost of the after-school program, which currently is $40 a year per child, is not an option that either she or the board of directors is considering. Every child costs the club about $1,000 a year. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses the club for the meals it provides, which is about 20 percent of that cost. Last year, the three clubs served 80,000 meals, not including the additional meals they serve during the summer, Gilbertson said. Of the remaining $800 per child, about 15 percent is covered by grants and about 26 percent through special events and fundraisers. And program fees account for about 11 percent of the club's funding. “The rest of the money is generous gifts from people in the community,” Gilbertson said. “About 55 percent of our funding comes from a grandmother giving us $50 or a corporation giving us $1,000.” But money was tight for the club even before attendance skyrocketed. “As of today, we are about $110,000 behind clubwide,” Gilbertson said. “By the end of the year, we hope to narrow that gap with fundraisers to be about $60,000 shy of our budget goal, but that’s not taking into consideration that I will need to hire additional staff members for the increase of membership." Gilbertson said the club aims at keeping the number of students to staff at a 20 to 1 ratio. “I’m kind of betting on the fact that if we are doing a good job, people trust us, and we are producing good citizens, then they will continue to support us,” she said. “If not, then I will be pounding the pavement.” The majority of the kids attending Talent’s Boys & Girls Club are from Talent Elementary School. The rest are bused from Phoenix and Orchard Hill elementary schools. And a few are from Talent Middle School. This year in Talent, the club was granted access to the school’s music room, having already taken over its gymnasium, cafeteria, playground and the one classroom from about 2:15 to 6 p.m. most afternoons during the school year and from about 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer. Gilbertson said 150 kids are about all the club can accommodate at that location with the space available. Next year, she said she’d like to give the school back its classroom and, instead, purchase two mobile units and retrofit them for the club’s use on Talent Elementary’s campus. The increase in attendance is partially because of the rise in the economy, opening up more job opportunities for parents and guardians. But the affordability of the program and the variety of enrichment opportunities available also make it an attractive after-school option, Gilbertson said. "We want to get away from the reputation that we are an after-school babysitting program,” she said. “We are an after-school youth-development program.” In Talent, children receive homework assistance during “power hour” and, throughout the week, participate in programs that build character and encourage healthy habits, Servoss said. Next week, the Talent club also will begin its Smart Moves program to increase drug and alcohol awareness. Gilberston said she plans to increase the staffing at each location and work with the board to form a strategic plan. “I don’t really know exactly what I’m going to do,” she said. “I just believe that if we show the community that we are a positive place for their kids … then the community will want to invest in us.”  Reach reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141015/NEWS/141019744 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->