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Money woes threaten children's club
By CHASE SQUIRES, Times Staff Writer LACOOCHEE -- It's going to take a lot to keep the financially struggling Boys and Girls Club open this summer in Lacoochee. But Steve Luikart, chairman of the Boys and Girls Club of Pasco County, is optimistic. Maybe, he said, there is someone out there who can save it. Without cash -- $12,000 -- by June 10, the board will cancel the Lacoochee club's summer program and lay off two part-time workers and the full-time director. The $12,000 is the amount needed to run the summer program. "The impact on the community is going to be tremendous," said Susan Stackpole-Kelley, executive director for the Boys and Girls Club of Pasco County. "We recognize how desperately we need this over there." About 130 children use the club daily, she said. The club closed temporarily on May 24 when money got tight, but the decision to cancel the summer program was held off until June 10 to see if there is some way to raise the money. Stackpole-Kelley said the news could get even worse. If the Lacoochee club doesn't have $15,000 in its accounts by Aug. 1, the club won't reopen in the fall. The $15,000 represents an estimated two months of operating costs for the club. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess what the club's future would be. Luikart said everyone involved is trying to find new supporters, but after a year in which Americans emptied their wallets to help the victims of Sept. 11, new donors are hard to find. Still, he said, announcement of the closing is generating attention from potential donors. "I think there are people who have said "Hey, we didn't realize it was in that situation,' " he said. "It's amazing what people can do when they are asked." Stackpole-Kelley said the entire county Boys and Girls Club operation is hurting from a drop in state grants and a squeeze on charities. Financial experts from the Boys and Girls Club of America are working on a financial strategy for the local clubs. She said she has already laid off nine employees at Pasco county clubs this year, and the Shady Hills club will close for a four-week span this summer while a Pasco County youth program picks up the slack there.
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From today's Pasco Times Editorial Letters |
