Church gifts Boys & Girls Club $45k

Youth in Glenrock are one step closer to having a fun, dynamic, inspiring and enriching place of their own, thanks to support from a local church.

On Dec. 17 members of Christ Episcopal Church presented the Glenrock Boys & Girls Club with a $45,000 gift from The Foundation for the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming and Christ Episcopal Church.

The money will help furnish the new Boys & Girls Club Glenrock facility, which is expected to open by fall, 2022.

The partnership between the club and church began in 2018, when several church members in the education community were concerned lunches wouldn’t be provided to students when the Glenrock School District went to a four-day-a-week school schedule. At the time, one-third of students were receiving free-and-reduced priced-lunches.

Christ Episcopal Church  Reverend Leigh Earle said  her members wanted to make sure Glenrock’s kids had lunch and snacks to eat, so she worked with the foundation to receive grant funds to provide meals for youth. In 2021, along with matching funds from the church, 5,950 free snacks and meals were served.

The club serves nearly 200 youth, 5-12 years of age.

The new facility will allow the club to double participation. The club provides a safe place for youth to go after school and during out-of-school days. Children receive intentional programming based on three focus areas:  academic success, healthy lifestyles, and good character and citizenship. In addition, club youth take field trips to area businesses, participate in STEM activities, grow and care for a garden, participate in community service projects, and provide leadership and learn job skills as junior staff.

Some of the club’s yearly impact highlights include: 100% of club members say they will graduate from high school, 78% want to pursue college or trade school, and 96% of youth say they will stand up for what’s right, even if others disagree.