By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
The Boys and Girls Club of Glasgow-Barren County is moving into a bigger location on Columbia Avenue that will allow them to provide more space and services to children than their previous homes have allowed.
The Craft Innovation Campus got its name after Kelly Craft, a Glasgow native and former U.S. ambassador and gubernatorial candidate, donated $2 million that Mallie Boston, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club, said was critical in purchasing the old bank building at 701 Columbia Ave. In addition to her donation, Boston said, they have received an additional $1.1 million from Team Kentucky and Governor Andy Beshear. These funds do not include those received for the Cave City facility, she said.
“This year we’ve received more donations than in the history of the club,” Boston said.
Boston said the initial plan for the new building was to have the children, currently at the Housing Authority’s HERO Center, moved in before school began but “didn’t want to cut corners” and thus pushed back the time to the second week of October if all construction continues without issue. Currently, she said, they still need to do some reconstruction on two classrooms and some work on restrooms.
“We’re pushing that really hard because we don’t want to have any gap in our services,” Boston said. “Our last week with the Housing Authority is Fall Break.”
Stairs leading up to the new building on Columbia feature the Boys and Girls Club logo. Photo courtesy of Mallie Boston.
From a cafeteria and e-sport technology lounge to music and art studios, this new facility will roughly triple the available space, Boston said, which will allow them to provide their services to more children than ever before. She said for the past several years — since 2015 — there has been a waiting list of more than 100 children that now will be able to be served by the club.
“I do believe with this new facility, with the room we’re going to have, we will absolutely be able to pull all the kids off the waitlist, I truly believe that.”
With the extra size available to them, the club will also be able to handle people from pre-kindergarten to 25 years-of-age where previously, Boston said, they could only handle 6-18 year olds.
Another big improvement that comes with this Columbia Avenue building is the fact that the club owns the building, something, Boston said, they have never had since the club’s founding.
“We’ve never owned our own facility,” Boston said. “We’ve had a wonderful facility with the Housing Authority that we unfortunately outgrew that pretty quickly. There’s just not room for everyone anymore, and that’s a great thing because it means more kids are being served.”
Mural by Mollie Settle. That is one benefit of owning their own building, Boston said, was they could use bright colors and do whatever they wanted to the walls. Photo courtesy of Mallie Boston.
From 2006 to 2015 the Boys and Girls Club was housed in the Bunche Center before moving, in 2015, to their current home at the HERO Center, located off S. Lewis Street. This newfound ownership allows the club a degree of creative flexibility, Boston said, they have never had before. Such as, extending the hours if needed, and taking children and staff input on services and, as Boston points out, on the decor on the inside of the building.
“We’re coming from a federal building, and that’s been a blessing, but that means white walls and not too much on the walls, so we’re really excited we’ve been able to fill this building out and make it feel like a creative and welcoming space for anybody who walks through the door.”
Another mural adoring the walls of the new 701 Columbia Ave. building. Photo courtesy of Mallie Boston.
However, the Craft Innovation Campus is not the only facility on Columbia Avenue the Boys and Girls Club has planned, Boston said, they also recently purchased the adjoining property — 801 Columbia Ave — with the goal of building a gymnasium the size of two full-size high school courts with restrooms and showers, a community garden and an outdoor space.
“It’s going to be a pretty big building,” Boston said.
They are still in the “very early stages” with the drawing and design being finalized, getting donations and putting out bids with construction companies, Boston said. During the time the club is not using the space, she said, and in an effort to not let it sit empty, it will be available for people in the community to use.
“Once that’s put up, in my opinion, they’ll have the best gym in Barren County,” Boston said.
In the end, Boston said, she is excited at the prospect this new facility — and eventually the 801 facility — will provide both to the children and to the wider Glasgow community.
“We want to make this space where they come to play basketball after school, but a creative place for the kids and for everyone,” Boston said.
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