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The Boys and Girls Club of Champion Valley, Weimar, held a ribbon cutting celebrating 20 years of service in Weimar last Thursday, Sept. 26.
Over the course of two decades, the club has become a pivotal part of youth and education in Weimar, offering a safe and beneficial afterschool environment to students who may have parents working, or unavailable to pick them up right after school, at that time.
Boys and Girls Club of Champion Valley Executive Director Jennifer Owens herself was a Weimar Boys and Girls Club member, a true testament to the impact the club has had on its students and members throughout the years.
Board President Alan Gilbertson says one of the most heartwarming moments for him is seeing the genuine impact the club has made on the children’s lives, to the point that some kids do not even want to go home.
“The thing that gets me is when the kids come from school and they are having fun, doing homework and all the things they are supposed to do,” said Gilbertson. “When their parents come to get them, they do not even want to go home. It is a beautiful thing to watch. Here is a kid that has so much security, feels so good about the people that they are dealing with at the club, that they do not even want to go home.”
Board Treasurer Walt Rognerud echoed Gilbertson’s sentiment, citing how some of these kids may turn around and contribute to the community in the same way Owens has after being impacted so heavily by the club. Rognerud feels that the Weimar Boys and Girls Club provides a good foundation for the kids to be able to do just that.
“Here we are going to be dealing with a lot of kids that are probably going to be in this community their entire lives,” said Rognerud. “We want to make sure we help build them into good citizens and that is one of the things that we do. We want to build a good foundation for the kids, so that the children do not want to leave the community, but rather turn around and add to it.”
