Boys & Girls Club open for families
BELLA VISTA — Despite changes caused by the pandemic, the Bella Vista unit of the Benton County Boys & Girls Club is still serving families in the area, director David Nicholson said. About 50 to 60 youngsters travel to the unit after school each day, about half of last year’s numbers.
Like other organizations, the Boys & Girls Club is operating under restrictions, including the lesser numbers, Nicholson said, but he still has some space available. Currently, the facility is licensed for 75.
Temperatures are checked every day when the kids come in, he said. The schools are also screening students on a daily basis, and that’s helpful, he said.
There are stations around the facility with hand sanitizer. As kids move from one activity to the next, they are reminded to stop for hand sanitizer and the staff gets busy disinfecting the vacated spaces.
Participants wear masks, Nicholson said.
“It’s not as difficult as we thought it would be,” he said about the masks. The kids, he explained, are used to wearing masks at school and accept wearing them at the facility. They can take their masks off when they are running in the gym or outside, he said.
It’s more difficult to keep them socially distant, he said. It means constantly reminding them to back up.
The club on Forest Green Boulevard has a gymnasium, art room, computer room and game room. There’s also space for members to do homework. They move through the facility in small groups based on their age.
The staff of about seven has been in place working for some time, Nicholson said.
Most of the participants come to the facility on a school bus from a Bentonville elementary school or Gravette elementary or middle school. The club will accept kids whose parents transport them as long as they are between the ages of 6 to 18, Nicholson said.
They are open after school until 7 p.m. and on some of the days when the school system has virtual days or teacher in-service days. If schools close because of the weather, so does the club, Nicholson said.