Avery Hohenstein, staff writer
SULTAN -- About four years ago, on the Christmas Eve of 2010, there had been a very damaging fire that wiped out the boys and girls club in Sultan, WA. Since the kids and teens around the area haven't had a nice steady place to go before and after school, they set out for bigger and better things to help the community.
Just recently, however, they opened a new and improved club that’s certainly serving more kids than before. The numbers have risen from 35 to 50. Director Charise Crawford had said, "The community really needed this," also adding, "we couldn't be happier."
Crawford is planning big for this new club, and with the amount of kids that keep coming, she is now seeking out new staff members daily. "It's bigger and better," said Shelby Frye, 10 year old attendee of the new club. "We have more stuff to do and more space," she added.
This new club is the perfect place for these kids to buckle down, all while getting connected with the community and enjoying the extra time. The $2 million dollar building is definitely a great upgrade that includes all sorts of activities to introduce art, sports, community service, and good education to these kids.
Although it sounds like all fun and games, there is good structure within the club. "We do this thing called Power Hour," recalled Logan Goodin, 8. "That's when we do our homework."
At the previous building these kids were sharing with the Sky Valley Family and Community Resource Center, they were sharing two computers with the whole building. However, the new building comes with a new lab holding 16 computers, plus another four in the teen center.
There's also a kitchen and a game room with 3 Xbox one systems and three flat screen TV's. "It exceeded my expectations," said 14 year old Brendan Frye.
As this whole effort continues to pay off for the community - especially the young ones - there are still more plans to make it even better. Eventually, the new club will be expanded out to combine a 7,000 square-foot gymnasium.
However, the nonprofit is waiting to see if the legislature approves $340,000 that would be put towards constructing it. Hopefully, by the end of this next year, things will spring into action once again.