Volunteer Effort for Menifee Valley Boys & Girls Club Begins

The first group of volunteers for the new Menifee Valley Boys & Girls Club gathered on Saturday. Many more volunteers are needed before the club in January.

About 20 volunteers had their first official meeting Saturday in support of the board of directors of the Menifee Valley Boys & Girls Club, which will be open for use by area youths by January.

Volunteers were given a tour of the facilities at the former Menifee Elementary School, adjacent to Menifee Valley Middle School on Garbani Road. Through a lease agreement with the Menifee Union School District, the club will have use of nine classrooms and most of the outside grounds at the former school site.

Volunteers will have a "facility prep day" Dec. 7 to clean and set up the rooms that will be used. Then the following Saturday, Dec. 14, the club will host a Family Fun Day and Open House from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., giving residents the opportunity to tour the facility and fellowship together.

There will be a bounce house and other carnival type games for the kids in addition to the opportunity for parents to register their children for the before- and after-school programs, which will begin after Christmas break. Registration will also be taken for a basketball league, which will begin Jan. 18.

The opening of a Boys & Girls Club in Menifee has long been awaited by those who have either driven to other cities to take part of such programs or gone without.

"In 2002, I had nowhere like this to take my son," said board member Sue Kristjansson. "I had to build our own little world in my house. This has been needed for a long time."

Ryan Sharp, pastor of Generations Church and another board member, stressed the need for additional volunteers.

"A full functioning club like this usually has 200-300 volunteers," he said. "You who are here today are getting in on the groundwork. Thank you for your help."

The club will have a website up and running soon. Meanwhile, correspondence should be sent by email to MVBGCAT@gmail.com. In addition to volunteer help, the group is seeking financial donations, with a goal of $100,000. So far, it has about $8,000 in the bank and the promise of a $40,000 grant from the regional Boys & Girls Club.