Boys & Girls Club lands $300K grant

RUSSELLVILLE — Looking to enhance and expand programming in the wake of COVID-19, the Boys & Girls Club of the Arkansas River Valley in Russellville landed a $344,000 grant in October, the culmination of an eight-month application process.

The effort, spearheaded by Megan Selman, former Boys & Girls Club executive director, joined with the leadership of 20 other Boys & Girls Clubs statewide to request a combined $6 million from the COVID-19 relief and recovery funding the state received from the federal government.

Troy Norton, Boys & Girls Club chief operating officer, said the money will support and grow programming in key areas.

“Right now, we’re using some of that money through our nutrition program,” Norton said. “We have so many kids here now that we turned one of our multipurpose rooms into a bigger cafeteria because our original cafeteria was not big enough to feed all of them.”

The funds will also be used to provide evidence-based academic support in after-school and summer programs that supplement school efforts in addressing lost learning; to strengthen social-emotional and behavioral skills for kids struggling with issues stemming from COVID-19; and to offer career preparation for teens. Norton said he’d like to see a portion of the money go for new, innovative programs.

“That’s what we’re going to talk about as a staff in January, as far as what programs we need to upgrade, what programs we need to start,” he said. “There’s always something new. What we did yesterday, we can’t always do today.”