MURRAY — In hopes of doing something now to help make up a budget shortfall by the end of June, three of the four South Valley Boys and Girls Clubs will be closed Fridays.
Despite what club administrators call "a really heartening response" to a $350,000 fundraising effort between now and the end of the youth gathering and recreation centers' fiscal year, doors will be shut Fridays at the Murray, Midvale and West Jordan clubs.
Donated funds have topped $100,000, development officer Toni Geddes said Tuesday, noting that grants and other pledged donations will raise the total. But that won't offset the shortfall created by past donors not being able to give this year because of the struggling stock market and the slumping economy in general, Geddes said.
"The Friday closure is planned through the end of April," she said, noting that the action is a first in the clubs' 42 years. The public appeal for money is also a first, Geddes said.
The economy is dictating a lot of firsts for many nonprofits, and it's having the greatest impact on low-income families, whose kids often frequent the centers, Geddes said. A community without active Boys and Girls Clubs isn't as close, isn't as fun for kids and often doesn't have a place where teens can just meet and talk with each other or to caring adults.
"A lot of people think we're just a baby-sitting service," Geddes said. "But we work really hard to let kids know that it's a good place to do homework, socialize and to pursue pretty much any computer and music hobby or interest they have."
The efforts to raise funds have involved Midvale Mayor JoAnn Seghini, who is also a club board member. The services the club offers — day care and after-school programs, mentoring and homework help, hot meals, sports and skill building — are more critical now than they have ever been, Seghini said.
The four locations serve 44,000 kids ages 3-18 each year, and as many as 400 on a given day. About 80 percent of the children who go to the clubs are low-income, and more than half live far below the poverty line. At the Murray club, 55 families have lost jobs in the past few weeks.
Midvale Police Chief Tony Mason links lower crime rates with the structure, socializing and teaching vulnerable kids life skills they might not otherwise get.
"A lot of kids think that the situation they're in is the one they'll always be in," Geddes said. "But we do our best to show them that nothing is set in stone."
To donate, go to any Zions Bank and designate your gift for Boys and Girls Clubs of South Valley or visit www.bgcsv.org/.
How to help
Donations to the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Valley may be made at any Zions Bank, or go to www.bgcsv.org/.Heady
E-MAIL: jthalman@desnews.com