KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Boys & Girls Club of Kalamazoo began construction on a new location Tuesday.
The club served students at Edison School for 70 years until the building was torn down two years ago. Since then, the club delivered its services at various schools in the area.
Thanks to a fundraising campaign, the club raised $9.7 million for a new flagship location.
The facility will include space for art and media projects in addition to rooms for sporting events and other recreational activities.
“In order to sustain the Boys & Girls Club, which is a nonprofit, … it takes contributions like us as well as the community,” says JBS Plainwell General Manager John Beasley. “When I was a kid, my parents had my brother and I in an after-school program, and in that after school program, there was some lack of supervision and my brother and I got hurt; my brother specifically broke his wrist. So we made the change to the Boys and Girls Club, and it was a success.”
Once completed, the new building will be found at Portage and Vine streets.