Lions learn about Boys and Girls Club

HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE — The Hot Springs Village Breakfast Lions Club recently welcomed Cedar Mountain Boys and Girls Club Director Susan Clark and Resource Coordinator Sarah Burns as guest speakers.

According to a news release, Clark shared that for fiscal reasons, the club was restructured in December 2015. As of Jan. 1, 2016, she was brought on board under Saline County Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Jasen Kelley and the local club became the Cedar Mountain Boys and Girls Club, located at 5050 Highway 7 north.

Cedar Mountain has 477 registered members, some 100 volunteers, and 10 staff members. Besides serving 37,000 meals in 2016, the club offers programs including skills learning, gardening, computer information, recycling, mentoring, sight and dental screenings, music lessons, recreational activities like basketball, soccer and dance, daily healthy snacks, and arts and crafts.

Passport to Manhood and Smart Girls are additional specialty programs, in which teenagers can learn etiquette, how to dress appropriately, makeup application, character skills, citizenship and auto mechanics. These young adults can also become junior staff, and help younger children in club programs.

There is a registration fee for each child, but the club offers a fee program based on the family’s ability to pay. Children are met each day at 3:30 p.m., and receive a meal to take home, along with a snack during their time there. Registrants can also get free or reduced price lunches, and in the Hot Springs Village area, some 74 percent qualify for that reduction. Clark said the garden produce gets eaten on site, because it tastes so good with salad dressing.

Because the building is owned by the area school and cannot expand, the club is limited to using only office space during school hours. Children’s programs held after school and during summer have space for just 130 children at one time, so many are on a waiting list. Clark said to meet the current and future needs of the community, the club is looking to build elsewhere, or move to a larger facility.

The club is a member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, a nonprofit organization.

For a tour, additional information, or to make a donation, call Clark or Burns at 501-984-6996. All donations are tax-deductible.