Yelm Boys and Girls Club Opens to Serve Youth and Families
The newly established Yelm Boys & Girls Club is officially open!
The Club offers organized activities, a technology lab, and homework help to nearly 50 students within the Yelm Schools boundaries.
The newly established Yelm branch was made possible following City Council approval to relocate City Hall last year to better meet the need of our growing City by improving customer service and operational efficiencies. After the purchase agreement of the new City Hall building, the City invited and encouraged public comment regarding the use of the former building.
The General Government committee received community input and recommended repurposing the building to serve youth and veterans. After hearing the proposal by the General Government Committee and listening to the citizens of Yelm, council elected to dedicate the space to house a Yelm branch of the Thurston County Boys & Girls Club and a Veterans Resource Center.
With the relocation of City Hall, the City is now able to help organizations, including the Yelm Boys & Girls Club start, grow, and expand into our community by reducing barriers to entry, and promoting community services in the City of Yelm by utilizing existing infrastructure.
The Yelm Boys & Girls Club was established through a partnership with the Thurston County Boys & Girls Club, and Yelm Community Schools. The City provides the space, performs outside maintenance, and donated several computer monitors while Yelm Community Schools organized bus routes to the club, donated computers, and provided tech support to get the Club online.
Not only does the Club provide a safe place for area students and help prepare them for real-world success, but the Yelm branch also established five jobs and created many volunteer opportunities. Andrew Chase, the new director of the Yelm branch is a Yelm High School Graduate and previous director of the Olympia branch.
At a March City Council meeting, Council adopted a resolution to authorize Mayor JW Foster to enter into a lease agreement with the Thurston County Boys and Girls Club and a Veterans Resource Center. The agreement allowed for the Yelm Boys and Girls Club to open on the first day of the 2019-2020 school year.
The City is still working and collaborating with multiple different veterans organizations to establish a Veterans Resource Center that will provide service and support programs to active military service members, veterans, and their families.
The City is proud to support our local youth and families, and this building will continue to serve as a valuable resource for the community with the establishment of these two public services. It has been used as the City Court, City Library, Council Chambers, City Hall, and this agreement will continue the trend by providing much needed resources for our local youth, families and veterans.
