Club expands to Point Place
More than 70 youngsters join in activities on Day 1
TOLEDO – Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo expanded its programming to Point Place with the opening of its Ottawa River Club at Ottawa River Elementary School.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to serve even more [youth] in another great area of our city,” Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo President and CEO Jim Ravas said to open a Jan 13 ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The opening occurred just two days after a Club opened at McTigue Elementary in South Toledo.
“This has been an amazing week for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo,” Director of Programming Gerri Peters said. “We’ve been working hard for this week, and I’m just so excited about today. Let me be the first person to actually say, ‘Welcome to the Ottawa River Boys & Girls Club.’ ”
The Ottawa River Club, 4747 290th St., is part of a new shared-space partnership with Toledo Public Schools that allows the Club to bring its programming, including its Power Hour homework assistance, arts and crafts, games, athletics and goal-setting activities to the schools after hours.
More than 70 Ottawa River students joined in Club activities on its first day. The Club welcomes students ages 7 through eighth grade from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“These shared space Clubs provide a great opportunity for our community because they provide great socialization for our students,” said Dr. Romules Durant, TPS superintendent and Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo trustee. “Boys & Girls Clubs have been game-changing when it comes to the lives of our students.”
Durant called the Clubs a safe haven for our students.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz also joined the Clubs for the celebration.
“There are more than 5,000 students between 7 and 18 who are served by the Clubs, but the need is so much greater,” Kapszukiewicz said. “Given what’s going on in the world, we all want to do more to make sure kids have more positive options in their lives, healthy alternatives and, yes, and safe spaces.”
Ottawa River joins McTigue Elementary, Sherman Elementary, Marshall STEMM Academy and East Broadway Elementary as the TPS buildings that host a Boys & Girls Club.