Eighty kids a day. Some days 90. There’s always a waiting list to enroll in the Wellington Unit of Boys and Girls Clubs of Larimer County.
Since 1986 this organization has been in the business of working with young people from disadvantaged economic, social and family circumstances in Loveland and Fort Collins. In 1994 they expanded to serve Wellington and in 2014 opened a summer program in Estes Park. Boys and Girls Clubs currently serve more than 3,500 youth in Larimer County every year.
There were big smiles all around as staff from major sponsors, Loveland First National Denver and Bert McCaffrey of the Business Card Factory presented the Wellington Club with a check for $8,100, proceeds from an annual golf tournament held at Mountain Vista Golf Course in August. Co-sponsors for the event were Frontier LLC, Vanworks and Finish Line Awards. The golf tournament is one of several fundraising events held each year to support the clubs.
Rob Klein, Wellington Unit Director, accepted the award for the club. “This money will go to building upkeep, program staff and field trips,” he said.
The Wellington Unit has recently partnered with the Filling Station in Wellington. Older students now have additional space to study, play and interact in the Filling Station building within easy walking distance from the club. “With this expansion we were able to accept 40 kids who had been on the waiting list,” Klein said.
The mission of Boys and Girls Clubs is to enable all young people, especially those most in need, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. The Wellington Unit has outgrown its current location and is working toward financing and development of a new location. “We’re chipping away at it,” Klein said. “We want to do it right.”