THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE GREATER CHIPPEWA VALLEY RECENTLY BOUGHT THE FORMER FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1005 OXFORD AVE., EAU CLAIRE.

Where some people see a recently vacated church, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Chippewa Valley see a huge opportunity to expand membership and programming to hundreds more Eau Claire-area kids. In November, the local club announced that it was buying the former First Lutheran Church, a step that will more than triple its space and allow the club to triple its membership, says executive director Sara Antonson.

Offices will be moved into the newly purchased building, 1005 Oxford Ave., in early 2016, with the goal of holding summer programs there beginning in June. The Boys & Girls Club will move out of the Mary Markquart Center, 210 E. Lake St., which it has called home since opening its doors in 2004. The club has simply outgrown its original location, Antonson says.

“Our membership has been growing very steadily,” she says, explaining the number is now above 700. “We are pretty much out of space. In the summer, we have upwards of 200 kids a day.” There are so many kids that they have to eat lunch in several shifts during the summer. “We are literally on top of each other,” she says.

Members of First Lutheran Church voted in June to merge with Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 1310 Main St., to form Spirit Lutheran, which is located in the latter church. The merger freed up the First Lutheran building to be purchased.

Antonson is enthusiastic about the new building and is eager to explain why it’s a good fit for the club. “The misconception is that we’re moving into a church, and when you think about moving into a church you think of a sanctuary with lots of pews and an altar,” she says. But in addition to the beautiful sanctuary – which will be available for community use – the Boys & Girls Club is also buying the attached school, which features a gym, an 80-seat theater, two floors of classrooms, meeting rooms, a kitchen big enough to become a culinary classroom, a cafeteria with a stage, and more. That’s 55,000 square feet in all, compared with 16,000 square feet at the current site.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Chippewa Valley has branches in Eau Claire, Black River Falls, Chippewa Falls, and Menomonie. The clubs’ official mission is “to inspire and enable all youth, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.” It does this through after-school and summer programs that focus on education and careers, character and leadership, the arts, sports and fitness, health and life skills, and more. In 2014 alone, the combined clubs had nearly 1,300 members, 43 percent of them from single-parent homes and 61 percent of whom qualified for free or reduced-price school lunches. The kids spent nearly 8,000 total hours doing homework at the club.

In addition to the large, adaptable interior, the former church has room for an on-site playground, something the current downtown site doesn’t have, as well as a large parking lot, which will make picking up and dropping off kids easier. Eventually, Antonson hopes, the additional parking space and the church’s central location will open it up to buses from all the district’s schools, which will deliver kids for after-school programs.

“Having this space will not only help us with our programs but will give kids a beautiful place to call their own and spend their time in,” Antonson says.

CLUBS FOR KIDS

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chippewa Valley has programs in four different communities in the region. To join, volunteer, or learn more, visit www.cvclubs.org or use the following contact information:

Mary Markquart Center
201 East Lake St.
(through summer 2016)
Eau Claire, WI 54701
(715) 855-0081

Chippewa Falls Center
21 East Grand Ave.
Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
(715) 726-2065

Jackson County Center
125 Fillmore St.
Black River Falls, WI 54615
(715)284-4005

Menomonie Center
River Heights Elementary School
615 24th Ave. West
Menomonie, WI 54751
(715) 233-2540