The Boys & Girls Club of Mason Valley has received a grant of $100,000 from the E.L. Cord Foundation for a new 3,000-plus-square-foot addition of a commercial kitchen to the facility.
The addition will provide nutrition services for the youths, while allowing room to expand services to families and seniors in the community.
"The proposed project will allow us to serve hundreds of meals daily to area youth, while also providing a centralized spot for commodity distribution, food bank storage, etc.," said Travis Crowder, executive director of the club.
"In just three summers, we have served a total of 12,428 breakfasts and 21,738 lunches to local youth," he said. "The summer program is a 10-week program and these numbers are staggering and only increasing each year. This project will be something the whole community benefits from and will truly be utilized immensely."
Crowder said the club is dedicated to ensuring the community's disadvantaged youngsters have greater access to programs and services that will enhance their lives and shape their futures.
The Boys & Girls Club of Mason Valley is in downtown Yerington. The building is nearly 15,000 square feet in size and consists of an arts and crafts room, computer lab, education room, game room, teen center, offices and a full-size gymnasium.
The club completed construction in September 2000 and in three years has enrolled more than 1,300 youth, significantly more than organizers expected.
"This trend we believe will only increase and continue, as the needs never diminish," said Crowder. "The E.L. Cord Foundation is one of the most well-respected foundations in the area and one the Boys & Girls Club of Mason Valley is honored to be associated with."
Contact Rhonda Costa-Landers at rcosta-landers@nevadaappeal.com or call 881-1223.
