After much preparation, the Boys and Girls Club of Shawano officially held a Grand Opening at Olga Brenner Intermediate School.
“It even exceeded out expectations from what we were looking forward to,” said Co-Chair of the Boys and Girls Club, John Aumann. “It allowed us to answer some questions that people had.”
Questions included asking about qualification requirements and about attendance requirements. Aumann said that everyone qualifies if they fit the age group of 3rd to 5th grade students, and attendance is encouraged, but not required.
“It is just a really good safe after-school program that is held right after school,” said Aumann. “We really want people to take advantage of it, if it fits their schedules. After school we know that [the kids] have been in the classroom for quite some time, so we give them some time to blow off some steam, and every day is a little different when it comes to the activities.”
Aumann said that transportation continues to be an obstacle that they are working on as they are a work in progress.
“The need here is tremendous,” Aumann stated. “We know we need to be available for those once they get the word around, as to what kind of program it is and we are still learning. With the assistance of Green Bay, we have a lot of people to lean on, and we just need to fine tune it and have it fit the needs of Shawano the best we can.”