by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Nestled in the Brentwood neighborhood of Northwest Jacksonville, the $3 million dollar NFL Youth Education Town center opened its doors to children in December with little fanfare. Today, an official grand opening will celebrate the achievement of the center with a little more flair, but much has already happened in the three months since children first arrived.
The center is operated by the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida and is designed to create opportunities for economically disadvantaged youth through activities to improve academics, physical fitness and job-related skills.
The facility currently welcomes almost 100 children a day, mostly from the surrounding schools and neighborhoods — but no one is excluded.
“The children come from all over the place,” said NFL YET Unit Director Yvonne Thompson. “We do so many different things here and they love it.”
Thompson has been with the Boys & Girls Club for over eight years and with the new center since it opened. Prior to NFL YET, she was the director of the Fernandina Beach Boys & Girls Club.
Belonging to the YET may be the best deal in town. For $10 per school year, children are able to participate in the numerous staff-led programs that use high-tech computer labs, classrooms, game rooms and a high school regulation gym that all help facilitate learning and development.
The gym is used for athletic competitions between area Boys & Girls Clubs. It also serves as a venue for the facility’s teen basketball league.
“Many children are coming here to get what they need,” said Thompson. “They get a sense of belonging.”
The center is open from 2:30– 8 p.m. and upon arrival, the children are broken into groups of 15.
After a quick snack comes Power Hour, a time Thompson has the children devote to completing homework, educational sheets or reading. As an incentive, children receive a ticket good toward prizes at the end of the week for each Power Hour task completed.
Following Power Hour, children are broken into more diverse programs based on interests and day. Arts and crafts projects, leadership exercises, community clean-up and nursing home visits are examples of activities, said Thompson, that teach the children responsibility and help them take pride in the facility.
“I tell them all the time ‘It’s your club, not mine.’ You have to take care of it, do what you need to do and act responsible,” said Thompson.
The $3 million facility was funded in-part by a $1 million donation from the NFL that goes toward YET centers in Super Bowl host cities, with the remaining money raised locally. Jacksonville hosted the Super Bowl in 2005 and those who helped bring the Super Bowl to town and raise the funds for the center chose Brentwood for a reason.
“It’s a new facility in a neighborhood that hasn’t had something like this in a long time,” said Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida President Debbie Verges. “It’s a wonderful facility and that’s what children deserve.”
Verges said facilities like the NFL YET, with its after-school hours and availability, can help curb Jacksonville’s crime rate by keeping children off the street and safe in educational and entertainment atmospheres.
”It’s really my hope that people realize that one main key to solving our (Jacksonville’s) problems is that it starts with children,” said Verges. “We’re (Boys & Girls Club) going to continue to do what we can to help.”
The short term goal for Verges is for the center to comfortably accommodate 150 children a day.
Summer camps are also available through the Boys & Girls Club and the NFL YET program, but the $85 fee could be a little tougher for some families to pay, said Thompson. She is hopeful that no child would be turned away due to finances, and believes community and corporate sponsors would help.
Still, Thompson is proud of the facility and thankful for the local community’s and the NFL’s support.
“The money this program and facility receives really does mean a lot to everyone here,” said Thompson. “It means we are able to run the daily programs that really do benefit these childrens’ lives and make a difference.”
For more information on the Boys & Girls Club or NFL YET call 396-4435 or go to www.bgcnf.org