Riverview Celebrates Opening of Boys & Girls Club

Out of all those gathered to celebrate the opening of the Riverivew Boys & Girls Club, 6809, Krycul Ave., Riverview, none was more excited than Lisa Brown of Riverview.

The mother of two enthusiastically followed the progress of the club. And, when it opened in December, she promptly enrolled her children, age 9 and 10.

"My kids attended the summer program at the Brandon Boys & Girls Club but we needed an after-school program," said Brown. "So, when I heard they were building a club in Riverview, I called every week to find out about the progress. I followed this from the day they started building."

It wasn't that she simply needed a place for her kids to go after school. She wanted a place that would offer learning experiences, character development and leadership skills.

"This isn't just a baby-sitting environment," said Brown. "Getting this facility is absolutely awesome for the community. It offers growth and development opportunities, Spanish classes and computer classes. My 9-year-old can actually do a Power Point presentation. That's big."

More importantly, said Brown, it offers her peace of mind.

"It's comforting to know my children are in a safe environment," she said. "My children can come here and I don't have to worry about them being home alone."

Brown spoke for the 99 other parents who have enrolled their children in the Riverview Boys & Girls Club during the two months it's been open.

According to Brad Baumgardner, president of the Tampa Bay Boys & Girls Clubs, the club has a capacity of 105 children.

"The fact that we've had so many enrolled so quickly shows you the great need in this community," said Baumgardner. "We didn't even have to advertise. Kids tell other kids about the club because this is a place that combines fun with a purpose."

Those instrumental in helping to build the new 6,000-square-foot Boys & Girls Club were on hand for a grand-opening celebration Friday, Jan. 27.

Brandon resident Dick Stowers, who was on the board of directors for the Brandon Boys & Girls Club, recalled how it all began six years ago.

"We were at a board meeting in Brandon and someone mentioned that they'd been getting a lot of requests for a club in Riverview," said Stowers. "Since I had a funeral home in Riverview, they asked me if I knew anyone in the community who could help get fundraising started for a club. I said I'd think about it."

Stowers did just that and came up with the name of someone who not only had dedicated his life to children but had grown up in Riverivew -- former Superintendent of Hillsborough County Schools Earl Lennard.

"I called up Earl and made the pitch, and he said he'd think it over," said Stowers. "A couple of days later, he called back and said he'd do it. The rest is history."

Lennard, who currently serves as Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, said he tapped various resources in the community he knew were dedicated to children, including the Ray Campo Foundation. The late Ray Campo was instrumental in building YMCAs throughout the area so children would have a safe place to play. Campo's trust fund donated $750,000 to kick off the effort.

"Just about that time, the economy tanked," said Lennard. "But we had the right people who were willing to invest in the children in this community."

Among them was Ruskin resident George Simmons who administers the Mabel & Ellsworth Simmons Charitable Foundation.

"This meant a lot to me," said Simmons at the grand opening. "A lot of people worked very hard and donated a lot of money to get this facility built."

Brandon resident Joe Garcia, who was instrumental in building the Brandon club, also jumped on the bandwagon to raise funds for the Riverview club.

Garcia has a long history with Boys & Girls Clubs dating back to his childhood spent at the West Tampa Boys Club. The West Tampa facility, built in 1927, was the Tampa Bay area's first club.

As a result of his own experience, Garcia's been one of the Tampa Bay Boys & Girls Club's biggest supporters, helping to build five Boys & Girls Clubs.

"It took awhile to get funding for this club," conceded Garcia. "It was the middle of a recession. Fortunately, we had a site. Msgr. Diez welcomed us with open arms."

Msgr. Antonio Diez, then pastor of Resurrection Catholic Church on Krycul Avenue, in cooperation with the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, agreed to donate two acres next to the church for the Boys & Girls Club.

With a site selected, Lennard was able to raise $2.5 million to build the facility as well as finance operations for three years.

"This is great," said Lennard at the grand opening. "It marks a tremendous accomplishment for the community."

And it bodes well for the success of the children in the community, he added.

"As a supervisor of schools, I've seen a difference in the achievement level and deportment of kids who attend the Boys & Girls Club or similar facilities," he said. "We wanted to provide this positive experience to the youngsters of the growing Riverview area. We know what occurs when youngsters in the community are unsupervised."

That's a major reason Hillsborough County Sheriff's Charities donated to help build the club, said Sheriff David Gee.

Gee said, when the community was considering building a facility in Brandon, his office did a survey of crime in the area and noticed that daytime burglaries were occurring in the afternoon when students were out of school.

"After the Brandon club was built, we did another survey and found a 50 to 60 percent reduction in burglaries," said Gee. "With more parents having to work, there are so many latchkey kids out there. We knew it would make a difference if we built a club in Riverview."

He said it just makes economic sense to invest in a Boys & Girls Club.

It costs $114.44 a day to house juveniles in the county jail and $276 a day to house juveniles in state custody. By contrast, it costs $13 a day to send a child to a Boys & Girls Club "where they are more likely to stay in school and become productive citizens. It's a good investment, it makes good business sense and it's the right thing to do," said Gee.

Lydia Gonzalez, 12, doesn't know much about the economic impacts of a Boys & Girls Club. She just knows that they're fun places to hang out. She had been attending the Brandon club since she was 5 years old and now serves as a youth volunteer at the Riverview club.

"This club means a lot of me," she said. "It's like my other family. It helps me to learn better and really impacts my life a lot."

Kayla Ortiz, 13, agreed.

"I get to interact with other kids and the club helps me to stay out of trouble," she said.

However, those instrumental in building the club aren't finished.

The next step is a fundraising campaign to turn the outdoor basketball pavilion into an enclosed gymnasium, said board director Tina Bivins.

In addition to seeking grants from Brighthouse Networks and Mosaic.

For information, call 813-387-7070 or email lisasteeves@bgcriverview.com.