Boys and Girls Clubs are alive and well

Amid rumors of closure after executive director John Schnase resigned, board members and directors of the Boys and Girls Clubs in Ronan and Polson want to assure the community that the club is very much alive and moving forward.

Board member Shad Hupka is on the hiring committee for John Schnase’s replacement. He said the board posted the job opening nationally and locally. Hupka said the committee was pleased with the response from candidates.

“I’m hopeful we will find the right fit for our community and someone that will take the club to the next level,” he said.”

Hupka said the board received eight applications and they have whittled the competition down to two applicants.  Though the board met Monday evening, Hupka said they have not selected Schnase’s successor.

“We’re getting close,” Hupka said. “We’re trying not to rush it.”

The biggest issue facing the new executive director will be fundraising for the club, which relies on both grants and donations from the local communities to meet operating expenses.

Board member Linda Greenwood said the club is launching a “Back A Kid” campaign beginning now until Dec. 31, 2014 to raise much needed sustainable income to cover day-to-day operational expenses.

Cash flow is critical in keeping the doors open, Greenwood said. The club needs an operational cushion to keep up with the cash flow so they are trying to reach a goal of getting 2000 households within the Mission Valley to pledge $20 per month.

“This will fulfill our budget and allow us to start planning for our new facilities for the club,” Greenwood said.

In 2015, the highway project will take out the Ronan club site that the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes lease the club for $1 a year. Greenwood said they are asking the community to donate monthly. She said it costs $28,000 to $30,000 per month to properly and safely operate the club. Donors can set up monthly donations through their local bank.

“Your giving would ensure that our clubs in Polson and Ronan would be around for a long time to come,” Greenwood said.

Greenwood, also on the hiring committee, said both applicants are excellent candidates for the position.

Polson club director Claire Gutschenritter is relatively new to the club. Gutschenritter’s background is in education and she said while it has been amazing to use what she learned at the university, the transition has been challenging.

She said both the board and the kids have been supportive during the interim period while the search for a new executive director continues. Gutschenritter said she hopes to start a food program for kids who stay at the club until it closes at 7 p.m. as a way to get warm food in their bellies as well as to teach them skills in the kitchen and family style dinner manners.

Gutschenritter’s hopes for the kids are more personal.

“I would like the kids to realize that they have a lot to offer the community,” she said.

In turn, she said she hopes that the community realizes that the club is crucial to families and that it warrants support from the community as a whole. The Polson club is at capacity and doesn’t have a fenced space for the kids to play outside, Gutschenritter said.

“The immediate need is now,” Hupka said. “We’re still teetering here, but if we can get the right leadership in there and the community behind us, we can begin to look into the future.”