Cherry Avenue Unit

OUR CLUB AT CHERRY AVENUE

Established in 1992, the Cherry Avenue Unit is located on the grounds of Buford Middle School and shares a building with the Smith Pool in downtown Charlottesville. In 2007, the Cherry Avenue Unit served approximately 296 youth, ages 6 to 18, in daily after-school programs, with an average attendance of 68 members per day. The staff at Cherry Avenue is constantly at the cutting edge of new and exciting programming, and continues to add new elements to currently existing programs. For instance, the Triple Play program encourages members to build healthy lifestyle choices and increase their physical fitness. With the added element of the Cycling Challenge in September 2007, eight members were tested and pushed to finish a 100-mile ride. Not only does the Cherry Avenue Unit offer free tutoring and homework help, but members who are in high school have the option to take classes at PVCC for college credit. At Cherry, there is always a focus on a higher and better level of programming.

PLEASE NOTE - THE CLUB AT CHERRY AVENUE HAS BEEN RELOCATED TEMPORARILY UNTIL OUR NEW BUILDING IS FINISHED.

Teens are currently located at the Music Resource Center, on Ridge street. Grades one through six are currently meeting at Washington Park, on Preston Ave. While we are in our temporary locations we are still providing the high level of programming you expect. Please stop by and see for yourself.

The Boys & Girls Club is planning to construct a new facility at our Cherry Avenue location adjacent to Buford Middle School, one of the neediest neighborhoods in our community. When completed, our capacity will soar from serving only 80 kids each day to 400 kids per day from across Charlottesville.

One of the most critical components of the project is the creation of a first-ever Teen Center designed specifically to meet the needs of Club members ages 13 – 18. Without designated space created for their needs, many teens lose interest in the Club and stop coming, putting their futures at risk through school failure, juvenile crime, violence, gang activity and teen pregnancy.

Our total campaign goal is $10 million with $8 million needed for the design and construction of a new facility. Our current timeline is to begin construction in the spring of 2009 at the same time as the City of Charlottesville’s new aquatic center which is located on the adjacent lot. In order to stay on track we hope to raise the construction funding by the end of January 2009.

Staying on schedule will allow us to minimize the disruption to the kids as we are currently located in temporary space at Washington Park for our younger members and at the Music Resource Center for our teens.

of Charlottesville/Albemarle serves almost 1,100 children ages 6-18 in six locations: Washington Park, Music Resource Center, Southwood Mobile Home Park, Jack Jouett Middle School, a former middle school in the Town of Orange and on property of the Middle School in Madison County. Our focus is to support children through every stage of their development through character and leadership development; education and career development; health education and life skills; the arts; and sports, fitness and recreation.

As the economy worsens, the need for our services and a larger, new facility becomes all the more urgent. Consider:

· Nearly 1 in 4 children under the age of 18 in Charlottesville live below the poverty
line (defined by the federal government as $20,000 per year for a family of 4).

· In the neighborhoods surrounding our Club, 80% of students are living in single- parent homes and 74% participate in the free and reduced meal program in School.

· With few after-school programs and minimal parent supervision, juvenile-related crime doubles between 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm.

Charlottesville’s high school graduate rate of 67.4% lags behind the state average of 72.9%.

We know that we can help make a brighter future for our community’s children. Our programs work. In a national survey of Boys & Girls Club alumni, participation was shown to make profound immediate and long-lasting differences:

· 90% graduate from high school

· 57% say the Club saved their life

· 91% are satisfied as adults

· 85% believe they know right from wrong

· 67% believe they have the skills to avoid difficulty with the law

· 85% have a sense of belonging

Teens need a place they can call “their club,” a place where they will be safe and motivated to succeed. For many, the difference will come down to just one counselor, one volunteer... one person... who believes in them. The Boys & Girls Club needs you to help make that connection possible.

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY

Our previous Club at Cherry Avenue had 300 members enrolled, but our facility was able to accommodate only 80 kids each day. Membership increased each year, but our capacity did not. This was particularly troubling for our teen population who need safe, supervised options after school.

In collaboration with the University of Virginia Curry School of Education, the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Club conducted a thorough analysis of

our target population and services available for older adolescents in Charlottesville and Albemarle. Their conclusion supported the expansion of our Cherry Avenue facility in

order to continue serving students from the City of Charlottesville in grades Kindergarten through 12^th and move forward with the construction of a Teen Center to focus on this underserved population.

The location at Cherry Avenue provides a central location that can be reached by those who need our services most. Buford Middle School serves as the only middle school in the City of Charlottesville and our proximity allows for easy access for those at a critical age for after-school programs. In addition, Charlottesville City School buses deliver

both elementary and high school students to the Club at the end of their routes.

The new building will allow us to accommodate up to 400 children and teens every day, a 500% increase! The facility will cover 25,000 square feet – nearly six times the space we had in our old building.

· a dedicated Teen Center featuring and a lounge with comfortable furniture and a study area for homework. With new space, equipment and activities, we project to increase teen participation at the Club by 200%,

· a space environmentally and acoustically designed for children and teens, and

Importantly, our project has been designed and will be constructed in accordance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System and it is our intention to pursue certification.

According to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, we will be the first LEED certified Club in the country, a model for other clubs to follow.

A commitment to “green” design reflects a broader and deeper commitment to environmental education for our members, and leadership in environmental stewardship in our community. Kids and neighbors will learn, play and appreciate a building that is nontoxic and in harmony with the environment.

Thanks to an innovative and mutually beneficial agreement with the City, the new Club will be located on land donated under a long-term lease and will be adjacent to the new pool and fitness center, thereby providing additional programmatic benefits to Club members and avoiding the cost of land acquisition. This arrangement also allows for a collaboration of programs and services. When completed, our community will have a

pool, fitness center, gymnasium, additional meeting and studio space and a field shared with the Buford Middle School. It will truly be a resource serving the entire community providing recreational, educational and youth services in one central location.

Through a shared construction manager with the City, we will work to manage a joint construction schedule and will manage and issue bids simultaneously. Although the amount of potential savings is unknown at this point, it seems likely that this arrangement will allow us to realize cost reductions in the range 20-30%.

As you may also be aware, the City of Charlottesville made a commitment to tear down the Smith Pool building and demolition has been completed. The Boys & Girls Club will be temporarily housed in much smaller facilities until we are able to build the new facility. Clearly, we are moving as quickly as possible to start construction on our new Club. While collaboration with the City will cut at least 20% of the costs, it also means that because the existing club was reduced to rubble this summer, we have very real and urgent pressure to secure the funding and move forward in a timely manner.

To create the vision, the Boys & Girls Club hired SMBW Architects as the “Architect of Record” working in collaboration with Charlottesville-based architect W.G. Clark . The design’s function and flow is perfect for creating an environment that will not only attract kids but also keep them coming back. We believe that we can make a meaningful difference with a building large enough to offer the best in academic and recreational programs to our young men and women ages 6-18. This project will construct a building with over 23,000 square feet serving 2,000 members and an average daily attendance of 400.

•	Building (23,500 SF) & Site	$5,750,000
•	Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment	400,000
•	Architecture & Engineering	760,000
•	Owner’s Administration*	350,000
	Subtotal	$7,260,000
•	Project Contingency	$ 740,000
	Subtotal	$8,000,000
•	Maintenance & Operating Reserve	$2,000,000
	Total Capital Campaign	$10,000,000

*Owner’s Administration Costs include preconstruction services and cost estimates, LEED consulting costs, surveys, geotechnical, soil and material testing, permits, legal costs, general liability and builder’s risk insurance and general administrative costs.

The Club’s partnership with the City of Charlottesville is part of a deep commitment to joining with other agencies that either enhances the support we provide or delivers needed services to kids directly. These include:

• Charlottesville City Schools • The Covenant School

· Albemarle County Schools • The Junior League

· Habitat for Humanity • Teen Health Services Center

· Madison House at U.Va. • The U.Va. Health System

· Music Resource Center • YMCA

· Computers 4 Kids • Community Children’s Dental Center

· Jefferson Youth Theater • University Art Museum

· USDA • Piedmont Virginia Community College

A CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT

The Boys & Girls Club

OF CHARLOTTE SVILLE/ALBEMARLE

Boys & Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity and Comcast work with Southwood Residents for Comcast Cares Day.

Your support of this project would be leveraged by widespread community involvement in Boys & Girls Club programs throughout the year.

FUNDING NEEDED

We must raise the funding needed to enter a construction contract by spring 2009 in order to coordinate our building efforts with the City. To date, we have secured $4,759,996 in gifts and pledges. In order to enter a construction contract, we are committed to bringing that total to $8,000,000 by the end of January 2009 and completing the $10 million campaign by December 2009.

This campaign is for the future of our kids. The choices they make today, tomorrow and the next day will determine their future. We want all our kids to believe that if you work hard enough, if you have a vision and if you have a passion – that you can achieve anything. You can help us do that, and we are most grateful for your consideration.