The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake on Wednesday was finally able to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its newest facility a year after COVID-19 delayed the original celebration.
The Spence Eccles Boys & Girls Club, 141 N. 600 West, will serve youth living in the Rose Park and Fair Park communities. The new building, part of the club’s Great Futures Capital Campaign, was constructed just a few blocks away from Capitol West Boys & Girls Club downtown.
Despite health restrictions, the club opened at 25% capacity in June 2020 and continued providing services both in person and virtually, at a time when youth were increasingly isolated. With the pandemic coming to an end, the club currently has nearly 100 youth already enrolled for summer programs and anticipates being at full capacity for the start of school this fall.
Wednesday’s celebration included remarks from LeAnn Saldivar, outgoing president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake, and Spencer F. Eccles, for whom the club is named.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake serves kids at seven locations in Salt Lake, Tooele and Carbon counties. Prior to the pandemic, nearly 6,500 youth attended these clubs with over 1,200 members coming to the clubs each day. In the early days of the pandemic, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake provided virtual activities and mentorship, emergency childcare for children of essential workers and first-responders, and meals for families experiencing food insecurity.
