The Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara is announcing the Grand Opening of our new ‘Patricia Van Every Teen Center’ which will take place on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 6:30pm during our annual Awards Banquet. It has been a year in the making but we are pleased that we have been able to utilize and construct such a great asset to our teen community to help with our outreach programs. Last January, we received the generous gift of $433, 000 from the Estate of Donald T. Leahy at the request of his sister, Santa Barbara resident Patricia Van Every. The gift has enabled the Club to construct and open the Teen Center, fulfilling a long –term goal of supporting Santa Barbara’s growing teen population.

“We are so excited to provide a new teen center because we are in a prime location to service youth from Santa Barbara schools. This is the perfect place for them to have fun, study and stay off the streets. This gift has enabled us to greatly impact a population that has previously not been served to its fullest potential. We cannot thank the Patricia Van Every and the Leahy Estate enough for this visionary gift; it has transformed our support for local teens.” said Carolyn Brown, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara.

The new Teen Center will feature programs providing character and leadership development, health and life skills, and education and career development. Among the major goals of the Center is to ensure that all teens graduate from high school, and are informed about the application process for college or technical school as well as community scholarship opportunities. The new Teen Center will reduce the influence of gangs, drugs, and alcohol, preparing them to become contributing citizens in our community.

For More Information please feel free to contact Donna Reeves, Development Coordinator at 805-962-2382 ext 34 or email donna@boysgirls.org .

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