craigdailypress.com

Area children, through the use of a survey, are expected to give key input to a proposed Boys and Girls Club, a member of the organization's steering committee said Thursday.

"What we would really like to do is to fill the gaps, so that anytime a child would be home alone, they don't have to be," Pres Askew said.

Askew said the surveys are set to be distributed when school starts and organizers hope to have them back in September.

Some 25 residents attended a meeting Thursday at which possitive comments were made regarding the plan.

"I believe in what this is all about," said Dave DeRose, mayor of Craig, who also is a member of the steering committee.

Children, ages 6 through 18, would be eligible to join the club. The club organizers hope to collaborate as much as possible with other entities that deal with youth and already are operating within the community.

"What a need there is for a place where kids can meet other adults and be nurtured," DeRose said.

Children will be able to

receive help with their homework at the center.

"The bottom line is Boys and Girls is a place to build better adults," DeRose said.

"The Boys and Girls Club is not necessarily a place where they (children) are going to be coming in and always playing games," said Dean Hollenbeck, vice president of Colorado Northwest Community College in Craig. "There is going to be mentoring. We will look with pride at the development of young people in the community."

Askew said he himself is a product of the Boys and Girls Club.

"I used to pay my dime and take the bus down to the Boys Club," Askew said. "I learned to swim there, I would spend my whole day there."

The program has no required attendance policy and no required participation policy. Children may participate in whatever activities are available and in group activities for which they sign up. It is a club, which means every child would pay a fee of no more than $10 and be eligible to come whenever they wished.

Operating hours would be from 3 p.m. to 7:30 or 8 p.m. on the weekdays during the school year and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. A location for the club has yet

to be determined.

The three services that the Boys and Girls Club would provide the community of Craig, according to Askew, are:

• provide a safe place for children with adult supervision
• encourage children to form relationships with adults
• provide standards of behavior

for children

The club hopes to employee 3 to 4 paid full-time employees once it opens, which organizers plan to do in June 2004.

"One real advantage we feel is offered from this group is that the national organization has partnerships with many corporations that in turn benefit the local organizations," Askew said.

The Boys and Girls Club in Montrose recently received several toys from Toys 'R' Us because of this partnership.

Liz King is an intern with the Craig Daily Press. She can be reached at 824-7031 or eking@craigdailypress.com.

Breakout box:

The Boys and Girls of Craig committee is looking for youth to take part in its three youth advisory boards. If you know of a youth whow is either in the 9th through 12th grade, 7th and 8th grade, or 5th and 6th grades and has ideas of programs they would like to see offered in Craig, call Dave DeRose at 824-4840, Dean Hollenbeck at 824-1108 or Pres Askew at 826-0412.