After School Program Name Changed to 'The Club'

DAYTON--Dan and Ginny Butler have announced a name change for Dayton’s new after school program, from “Boys & Girls Club of Dayton,” to “The Club.”

They said they are taking the “best practices” of Boys and Girls Clubs into the daily operations and moving forward, which will allow for added flexibility to act immediately on community interests for the local youth.

“The Boys and Girls Club of Spokane has helped by advising us to this date,” the Butlers said. “While our intent has always been to be a Boys and Girls Club in Dayton, we feel to continue on this successful path, we must do so on our own. Both the Spokane and Dayton Boards are in agreement.”

Dan Butler said Jim Pearson has been hired as Director of The Club. Pearson felt a deep need to “do something great” for the community, as well as something personally fulfilling, he added.

“Jim is incredible with kids. He applied and we jumped at it,” said Butler.

Pearson has previous experience working with youth while employed at the Learning Place, an alternative school in Dayton, as well as during his time as the manager of a driving school, for beginning drivers, in Maple Valley Washington, Butler said.

Pearson’s start date at The Club is July 16, and he will begin the process of hiring four half-time employees, one to keep track of memberships, and three to work with different age groups on projects and activities. The Butlers are placing ads in local newspapers.

The applicants must love kids, and pass the background checks, said Butler. The same goes for volunteers, he added.

“We’re looking for good people. If they only want to come in a couple hours a week, we’d take them,” he said.

Butler said Pearson will also be on hand to help with a tour of the facility, and membership enrollment, during The Club’s free hamburger open house, which is planned for August 1, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

““We will have exhibits and give-a-ways. . . Everyone is invited,” Butler said.

The Club will be open to students in the Dayton and Waitsburg School Districts. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday, from after school until 6:30 p.m.

The cost is $20 for an annual membership, per child. Additional fees will be required for morning care on school late start days, and during the summer months. Additional fees also apply for the Dayton Schools’ six-day Sunrise Program.

The Butlers have been successful in acquiring the 7,500 sq. ft. building at 528 West Cameron Street. To date they have received $198,506 through fundraising efforts and grants for a complete remodel of the building, with almost enough funding for the first year of operation.

“We are $39,000 shy of having all of the first year’s operating budget,” Butler said.

The Butlers spend a large part of every day developing the project. “We’re not taking it lightly. We’re thinking all the time,” Dan Butler said. “Ginny is waking me up in the morning at 4:30 with ideas.”

Nothing happens on this scale unless there is a lot of thought and a lot of planning, he added. “The community of Dayton has been incredibly generous.”

The Butlers would like to recognize the following for their contributions to facilities and operations:

State Farm Insurance, $25,000

Wildhorse Foundation, $18,346

Heppler Fundraiser, $2,400

Eagles’ Jimmy Durante Fundraiser, $8,260

Cathy and Michael Haight, $10,000

Sherwood Trust, $20,000

Pacific Power, $3,000

Innovia Foundation, $30,000

HomeStreet Bank,$5,000

Port of Columbia, $2,500

Columbia REA, $5,000

Broughton Land Company, $2,000

Warren Family Foundation, $8,000

Dayton/Columbia County Fund, $15,000

And financial support from the community through the Stand Up for The Club fundraiser, which raised $44,000.