Campaign donors recognized
$3.2M campaign improves facilities at Boys and Girls Club of Kawartha Lakes
LINDSAY – Campaign donors were the focus of a Thursday morning event that showcased recent renovations at the Boys and Girls Club of Kawartha Lakes in Lindsay that have brought youth-focused organizations under one roof.
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister and Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal, on hand to open the Lindsay Street South facility on behalf of Children and Youth Services Minister Michael Coteau, praised the importance of community builders – such as the late long-time Ontario premier Leslie Frost, of Lindsay.
“Without your support, we couldn’t have achieved this exciting milestone,” he donors and dignitaries gathered for the announcement in the gymnasium.
The province provided $1.6 million in capital funding for construction and refurbishment of the non-profit charitable organization that serves some 6,800 children and families.
The facelift has brought Chimo – Youth and Family Services, a ministry-funded children’s mental health agency, under the same roof as the club and Lindsay Gymnastics Centre.
The facility is also home to Adventure Quest, a partnership between the club, Chimo and public school board to assist those having difficulties at school.
The building is also used by numerous community groups for meetings, for example, Boys and Girls Club executive director Scott Robertson pointed out. “The club has really become a community hub and we’re very proud of that.”
More than $3.2 million raised for the Building Community Together capital campaign has led to improvements at the eightacre site including new drainage and storm water management systems and several yard and parking lot refurbishments, including a new drop-off area.
A new 6,500-square-foot youth centre also features a tech centre, games area, entertainment lounge, recording studio and full service kitchen, as well as a 6,000-squarefoot suite with programming and office for Chimo. Two new classrooms were also built.
The club isn’t done, either. Incomplete aspects of the original plans include the construction of a water park, skateboard park and further landscaping and tree planting.
Initial concept plans for the 70,000-square-foot building were first drawn in 2009, more than a decade after the former factory was donated. Back then, officials had pipe dreams of a rollercoaster, zip lines and pool for the site, Robertson joked.
He pointed out that he expects facilities like the club’s new beach volleyball and basketball complex and multi-sport field to be well used by the community, just like the playground installed outside. Visitors toured the facility following Wednesday’s speeches.
Club foundation board member Greg Walling, the managing director of Lindsay-based Sullivan Group and former president and CEO of Peterborough-based Fishercast Global, was praised for his years of supporting the club and its campaigns.
He said he couldn’t think of a better cause to be associated with and pointed out how officials overcame the challenge of keeping the club operating during the renovations.
“This club is an excellent place for the community. This is a worldclass facility in the City of Kawartha Lakes,” he said, calling the site a hub of partnerships. “When you come into the club, you can just feel the caring.”
Mayor Andy Letham said the club will continue to improve lives for years to come. “There is no better investment in our community than an investment in our children.”
Youth member Sean Burnett, who has been coming to the club since Grade 5, called it a wonderful place to learn – even more than school, he joked. Now a staff member, he spoke from the heart about what the club has meant to him.
“I’m so thankful to be here and be a part of this,” he told those gathered.
Bringing the organizations together will create an opportunity for co-ordination between services, a centralization that will help develop well-informed, responsive treatment and case management plans for children and youth, Leal said.
The facility is shaping generations to come, said Leal, who pointed out that he once served as an assistant for Lindsay councillor, mayor and Victoria-Haliburton Liberal MPP John Eakins.
“Thank you for what you do every day to make the lives of children better,” he said. “I know the future is in great hands.”
NOTES: The Boys and Girls Clubs of Kawartha Lakes is located at 107 Lindsay St. S in Lindsay .... For more information on the organizations, visit www.bgckl.com, www.chimoyouth.ca or www.lindsaygymnasticscentre.com.