Wisconsin Rapids, Wis (WFHR, WIRI)

Jennifer Allen and Katie Johnson sat down with James Malouf to talk about the Boys and Girls Club of Wisconsin Rapids Area. Jennifer Allen is the Chief Executive Officer and Katie Johnson is the Special Events and Marketing Director. They shared with James important information about what the Boys and Girls Club offers to their members. They also shared events coming up and how the community can participate.

Who they serve

The Boys and Girls Club of the Wisconsin Rapids Area serves over 13-hundred youth in the community. Most children participate in programming at the Wisconsin Rapids facility. They also have two school based sites at Nekoosa and Port Edwards. In addition to that, they run a morning program at six elementary schools in the area. They focus on three areas within their programs. Academic success, healthy lifestyles, and good character and citizenship.

Keeping costs low for families

The Boys and Girls Club tries to keep costs low for families. 70-percent of children enrolled in their programming qualify for free and reduced lunch. This percentage is the highest it’s been in years. A membership for families is $40 for the school year. The kids get dinner every night and are able to go on field trips and be involved in activities without additional costs. Their families know the children are safe and well cared for. The summer program is $160 for a 10 week program. They serve breakfast, lunch and snack as well as field trips and educational programming to help with summer learning loss. They have around 350 children who enroll in summer programming.

How to help support the Boys and Girls Club

One of the ways you can help the Boys and Girls Club provide this important programming for area youth is by attending their fundraising events. They have a few coming up soon.

Toast to Great Futures

This event will take place on April 26th at Ridges Golf Course from 7 to 10 PM. People attending the event will receive a complimentary wine or beer glass. There will be wine, beer and whiskey to sample throughout the evening as well as hors d’oeuvres. This is a wonderful event to network and enjoy time with people in the community as well as supporting the Boys and Girls Club. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, March 20th. You can purchase tickets individually for $75 per person. After April 12th, the ticket price will increase to $85. There are still some sponsorship levels available that include tickets to the event.

Golf Outing

They’re running the Golf Outing a little later this year. It’s a 9 hole golf event with registration at 2:30 and the shotgun start is at 3. This event will take place on Friday, May 17th. There’s a special hold in one challenge worth $11,500 presented by Paper City Savings.

Links to the interview and the Boys and Girls Club

You can find the full interview with James Malouf on Mid-day Magazine on February 29, 2024.
https://civicmedia.us/shows/morning-magazine
You can find out more information about the Boys and Girls Club of the Wisconsin Rapids area on their website.
https://www.bgcwra.org/