The safe haven for kids at 545 West Alameda Street was literally built by the community.

Each nail hammered into the framing was done by union carpenters volunteering on their own time.

Each dollar raised to purchase building materials and to operate start-up programming for at-risk youth came from the pockets of everyone from grandmothers to business people.

They were united in in a common mission.

The goal was to reduce juvenile delinquency and improve the chances of at risk youth succeeding in life.

The vehicle chosen to power the promise of the youth center seeded with $200,000 upfront by the late Antone Raymus and built by the local Carpenters Union was the Boys Club of America that morphed into the Boys & Girls Club shortly after it opened some 40 years ago.

Over the years, it became clear at risk youth come from all social-economic backgrounds and not just those with a less than stellar home life or from single mother households.

It was a true microcosm of Manteca youth.

Access to a wealth of programs such as organized sports, art, learn karate, a games room, various programmed events and just a place to safe hang out and make new friends has been at a nominal fee for years.

Today, the fee is $60 a year or $5 a month. Kids who are  low-income households qualify for scholarships and pay nothing.

The Boys & Girls Club started in a serious vacuum in the early 1980s as Manteca moved deeper into its status as a commuting community where most households with two parents both worked.

The city offered no alternative that is as robust.

And while the city has added after school programs, summer day camps, and such over the years, none match the concept of a controlled youth drop-in center as the Boys & Girls Club offers.

As Manteca has grown over the years, club leaders saw the need for a second location, particularly south of the 120 Bypass.

They saw the same challenges of latchkey kids that spurred the move to establish a Boys & Girls Club south of the 120 Bypass.

Toni Marie Raymus, who for years diligently raised funds for the club to keep it operating, was among them.

She approached the city with a proposition: Raymus Homes would build a second club in an upgraded neighborhood park for a development they were planning south of the 120 Bypass. It would have the same basic arrangements that allowed the current Boys & Girls Club to be on city park land with the proviso ownership of the facility would go to the city if the club ceased to operate.

The city’s response was underwhelming.

They echoed the mantra used to bat down every effort to provide the community with reasonable amenities for years: the city lacked the resources to make it work.

Manteca’s continued growth, the struggle and time for a volunteer board to augment operating grants by raising money, and the pandemic has taken its toll.

Today, the Boys & Girls Club is at a crossroads.

They are still doing what they were created to do, which is make a difference in kids’ lives.

But the reach is less than it was 15 years ago.

That’s not a bad thing as they are still having a positive impact.

But the impact can be much stronger and more widespread.

It is why with the Boys & Girls Club still in a relatively strong position, they need to explore the best way to turn over the operation to the City of Manteca.

With all due respect, it is doubtful that community leaders that literally built Manteca such as Don Stewart, Jack Snyder, Connie Meintasis, Antone Raymus, Scott Smith and others that gave life to — and sustained for years — the Boys & Girls Club would be “rolling over in their graves” at the suggestion.

They did not come together with one purpose to build a Boys & Girls Club per se. They were driven by a universal desire to help kids.

The passage of temporary 20-year Measure Q sales tax gives the city some wiggle room to up its game.

Converting the clubhouse into a youth community center operating and expanding the same programs and adding more should be the goal of all involved in order to serve as many Manteca youth as possible.

So as not to lose the wealth of grants the Boys & Girls Club taps into as a non-profit, it is an ideal situation to create a situation where a Manteca Police Athletic League could be formed to capture such funds.

For decades, off-duty police officers provided the bulk of the coaches for the club’s flag football and basketball teams.

An organization such as Friends of the Manteca Youth Center could be formed to assume the fundraising role of the Boys & Girls board. The primary mission would be to make sure youth center programs were free to those whose families could not afford the fees.

The city would be responsible for the day-to-day drop-in youth programming. That would mean the center director would be on the municipal payroll and hire the part time staff to run the programs.

That also means the city would cover insurance and such as well as building upkeep.

The city, in a way, already has. They’ve plowed hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years in pass thru federal funds Manteca has received to re-roof the building twice, install a new HVAC system, remodel bathrooms, upgrade lighting, add on a storage room at the end of the gym, install solar panels, and much more.

Manteca leaders should also commit to duplicating a building similar to the Boys & Girls Club in a “super-sized” neighborhood park south of the 120 Bypass to run a second city youth drop-in center.

The Boys & Girls Club continues to enjoy success on a one-on-one basis with many kids. But the number is not on the scale as in past years.

And the reason people give freely to the club is not because of the national institution it represents, but because they know their hard earned dollars are going to help local kids and help keep them out of trouble.

Transitioning to a city-based program not only assures the programs that have benefited countless Manteca youth will continue as they have for decades, but they can be expanded to reach more youth.

The time has come for Manteca to take the next step.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com