The unit director of Bella Vista Unit of the Boys & Girls Club is a former "club kid" and so is most of his part-time staff. In fact, when he was a part-time staff member, some of his current staff were the club kids he supervised. For David Nicholson, the Boys & Girls Club is family.
The Bella Vista Unit is part of the Benton County Boys & Girls Club. Each day buses from Bentonville and Gravette schools deposit about 95 children at the facility on Forest Hill Blvd. The program is open to teenagers, but most of the kids at the Bella Vista Unit are younger since the buses come from elementary and middle schools. A few teens find their way to the facility and hang out in the teen room upstairs, Nicholson said.
The facility can house 150 kids, but when Gravette opened its own after-school care program, the Boys & Girls Club lost some of its regulars.
The staff members greet their charges outside and each child gets a snack as he or she arrives. They are divided by age. About half the group goes to the gym and the other half goes to the game room. Sometimes, one group goes outside.
The game room has a bumper pool table, a golf pool table, an air hockey board and a ping pong table.
There's also a learning center with a staff member who can help with homework, and there are bean bag chairs for reading. The club tries to encourage the kids to get their homework done there by letting them earn points for a monthly pizza party.
The arts and crafts room is now called the STEAM room for science, technology, engineering, art and math. There's a 3D printer that kids earn the right to use on occasion, Nicholson said. They can "print" plastic toys and other small objects.
The way Nicholson gets kids to participate is to give them a lot of options and asking their opinions on the activities. Almost all find something they want to do that way, he explained.
The Torch Club is the Boys & Girls Club leadership program. It does a lot of community service, Nicholson said. It helps the police department with drug take-back day, he said, and it keeps a section of bike trail near the facility litter-free. Torch Club members also travel to 5K races on occasion.
In return, the unit also receives a lot of volunteer help. The police and fire department come out to visit and play with the kids. There's a group of pickleball players who use the gym in the morning and then return in the afternoon to teach the game to the younger generation.
Nicholson said they're always looking for more activities for the kids. Donations of kits that can be used in the STEAM room would be welcome.
Although the club closes when the weather closes schools, it is open all day on school breaks and during in-service days.
General News on 09/18/2019