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TOP PHOTO: Bart McFadden CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley gave an update on how the establishment of a club is going for Campbell County during Rotary’s Luncheon on Tuesday at the LaFollette Methodist Church.
By Charlotte Underwood
LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- The newly established Campbell County Boys and Girls Club was the topic of discussion at Tuesday’s Rotary Club luncheon held at the LaFollette Methodist Church.
Campbell County’s General Sessions Judge Bill Jones, along with Bart McFadden (the CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley) gave an update on how the establishment of the organization is coming along.
According to Jones and McFadden, the club should be up and running before the 2025-2026 school year begins in August.
Establishing a Boys & Girls Club for the county has been a “high priority†for some time now, according to Judge Jones, who said the club would impact the community tremendously.
Instead of having kids out on the streets or in unsafe situations, Boys & Girls Clubs are “safe spaces where kids can learn and grow.â€
McFadden said that the Boys & Girls Club wanted to†partner with the community individually and collectively to make sure the kids of the community have what they need to be successful long-term.â€
Judge Jones said multiple individuals had put numerous hours of work and effort into establishing the club over the past year.
“I can’t say having a Boys and Girls Club was just a dream of mine; it has been the dream of a lot of people in Campbell County. This is not something that is in debate, everybody knows we need this. This is not a program that’s brand new; this is something that is known and works well and is in every county around us and has been so successful and great for the kids of each county and it will provide great opportunities for our children,†Judge Jones said.
The announcement that a Boys and Girls Club was starting in Campbell County came this past fall when Judge Jones, McFadden, along with other key individuals and board members held a press announcement on Oct. 21st of 2024 at the Dewey Hunter Center in LaFollette. The center will be the first location of the club, which organization leaders hope to “grow and expand throughout the whole county.â€
When the club opens in LaFollette this year, it will be the 26th Club of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, which operates clubs in five counties, including Anderson, Blount, Claiborne, Knox and Loudon Counties.
Jones said he and others are “forever grateful to Bart McFadden and everyone at Tennessee Valley Boys and Girls Club†for everything they’ve done to help Campbell County establish its own club.â€
“He has poured so much time and effort into this, and I am infinitely grateful to Bart, the members of the Tennessee Valley Boys and Girls Club, and our board members here,†Jones said.
He reiterated that the hope was for the club to be open for the fall semester of school in August.
“This was a dream and now it’s coming to reality … but we still have a lot of work to do, and we need a lot of help, we have a lot of money to raise and a lot to get in place and we will be reaching out to the community for help, ” Judge Jones said.
McFadden spoke about what Boys and Girls Clubs do, what they bring to the community and why they are worth investing in.
These are all things he knows first-hand, growing up as a rural kid going to a Boys and Girls Club in Johnson City.
“When we talk about access to opportunities, kids living in rural communities have more access challenges that urban communities… Every kid deserves to have opportunities to reach their full potential,” McFadden said.
He explained how Boys and Girls Clubs build a child’s sense of belonging and helps them see their true potential and that while the clubs provide a space for all children, they specialize in providing space for “the kids that need it most.â€
He spoke briefly about the key principles that the organization operates on.
“Number one, we meet the needs of kids, whatever those needs are in a community, we seek to meet the needs of kids with good programs, good people and connectivity, next, is that we connect with the community around us. We provide opportunities to kids that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise and that can really be life altering in a very positive way,†McFadden said.
“We meet the needs of kids, whatever those needs may be. If they need food, we feed them …if they need academic support, emotional and social support, nutritional support, we meet the needs of those kids …We connect with the community around us. We recognize the value and potential of those around us…Every kid deserves the best of what the community has to offer. We invest in our people, kids. Staff and families. We change lives and we can prove it,†McFadden said.
Boys and Girls Clubs are known to show measurable improvements within the community. Clubs are open 240 to 250 days a year, have highly trained staff and can provide positive outcomes in academic success and much more. The clubs provide summer activities, Arts programs, Emotional and Social Health Programs, Cooking Clubs, garden clubs, pre-k programs, nutrition initiatives, Youth force programs for paid internships, technical training camps and so much more.
The mission of the Boys and Girls Club is to inspire and enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.
McFadden also said he was excited about the first location of the club at the Dewey Hunter Center, as well as partnering with area schools in the future.
“We have to put our people where the kids live. That’s why so excited about location in LaFollette, it’s so close to schools and where kids live, it will help us serve those kids that need us most…We look forward to being a part of this community and changing lives in this community.â€
For more information about the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, visit bgctnv.org, or call 865.232.1200 or email info@bgctnv.org. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-01/08/2025-6AM)