The Manteca community donated $92,410 during Saturday’s Boys & Girls Club telethon to help provide a safe haven for more than 500 youth.
“We’re ecstatic,” said Erin Nussbaumer who serves as president of the Manteca Boys & Girls Club.
The funds raised will help cover staff salaries and operational expenses to continue offering drop-in style after school and summer programming at the clubhouse at 545 W. Alameda Street.
Among the larger donors were Kaiser Permanente, $35,000; South San Joaquin Irrigation District, $5,000; Jay Holmes, $3,000; and Manteca Police Chief Foundation, $2,500.
Manteca Mayor Gary Singh helped raise over $3,000 by putting up a sizable donation and taking two pies in the face if others matched his donation.
The balance was from individual donations and organizations.
The club is a true drop-in program with various opportunities to take part in organized activities and sports leagues.
As such, that means kids from ages 6 to 18 have a safe place they can just hang out with their peers and make new friends, shoot baskets in the gym, take advantage of the games room and such, or participate in everything from art classes to flag football leagues.
Kids don’t come from a structured school setting and then go into an after school setting where they continue to basically sit and participate in more structured programs.
The formula has paid dividends for decades.
There are endless success stories of at-risk kids growing up to be successful in life and steer clear of trouble.
And those that might not be considered at risk, benefited immensely as well in terms of personal growth and find experiences, that they have their children attending the club now.
The annual membership is $60. That covers all offerings.
It stays with the original objective to make sure the club was accessible to youth.
Community leaders founded the club and built the facility 545 W. Alameda that opened in 1982 as a way to address growing concerns regarding latchkey children that basically had to fend for themselves after school, and even in summer, because both parents or their only parent, was at work.
Several years after the club opened, Manteca Police indicated there was nearly a 35 percent drop in juvenile delinquency community wide.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
