Boys and Girls Club Folding

Update: Town council voted in December 2011 to fund a new community center that will absorb much of the programming formerly offered by the Boys and Girls Club. Read more.

The original story follows:

The Boys and Girls Club of Mount Pleasant has been working with kids for more than 50 years, but soon, the club will no longer exist.

After years of financial struggles, organizers announced earlier this summer that the Boys and Girls Club of the Trident Area will fold on July 31. It currently operates two year-round clubs — one in Charleston and the other in Mount Pleasant. Two school-based clubs also will not re-open in the fall.

In Charleston, the city plans to partner with some other yet-to-be-determined entity to run the afterschool and summertime programs.

But in Mount Pleasant, no one is willing to run the program. That will mean no more day camps or afterschool programs for roughly 40 kids.

“It’s not a question of whether the Boys and Girls Club will continue… We will no longer exist after that date,” said Anitra Pregiato, the organization’s executive director. “But there is no question that these kids need to be in a positive, impactful youth program in these communities.”

The Town of Mount Pleasant, however, just can’t afford the $100,000 annual operating costs that are associated with the Boys and Girls Club, said Town Administrator Eric DeMoura.

“Times are just tough, and the Town of Mount Pleasant has been able to maintain its tax rate and not raise taxes for a long time,” DeMoura said. “We’ve been able to do that by focusing on our core services. We’re not in a position to expand into a non-core service.”

Last summer, the town ran the Boys and Girls Club programming, and the town has for several years provided the club its building at no charge. DeMoura said the city may offer some evening programming for the children, but he ruled out any possibility of a large-scale program just like the club operates now.

“It’s sad and unfortunate that we are not able to pick up the loss,” DeMoura said. “We’ve asked for individuals or an entity to run the program, but no one has been willing.”

The Boys and Girls Club has for years struggled to keep its operations in the black, Pregiato said. This year, facing another financial crisis, the charity opted to simply dissolve rather than ask the community to bail it out.

“The organization has had some challenges in the past,” Pregiato conceded.  “Leadership challenges and financial struggles have been issues. There is just a very competitive market for non-profits, and fundraising is very difficult… Ultimately we didn’t feel like we could sustain the program long-term.”

Roughly 40 children are currently enrolled in the summertime programs in Mount Pleasant, and there is a waiting list to get in, Pregiato said.

“In Mount Pleasant, people might not see the need on the surface, but there are pockets of children that need our services,” Pregiato said. “Traditionally, the children in Boys and Girls Club are the most at-risk.”

The vast majority of the children enrolled at the Mount Pleasant club are black. DeMoura said there just isn’t much the city can do to help.

“Soccer, baseball, basketball – those are the sort of programs our parks and recreation department provides,” DeMoura said. “I would encourage these children and their families to get involved in those programs.”

Charleston will soon announce an agency that will run its Boys and Girls Club programming, said Jane Baker, the city’s director of neighborhood services. Pregiato holds out hope that some other group will step forward in Mount Pleasant.

“If there is no program like the Boys and Girls Club, the community will see an adverse impact,” she said. “Those kids will be out on the street … kids with idle time find ways to fill it.”