Fundraisers set sights on a new club for DeSoto

The quest for $7.5 million began officially Friday afternoon for the Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County.

The organization has its sights set on a new facility for the DeSoto club, and Friday marked the kickoff of the Invest in Kids Campaign with a ceremony on the grounds of the current facility.

“The current DeSoto Boys and Girls Club has been around for over 50 years and it has become functionally obsolete,” said Dawn Stanhope, president and CEO of the organization. “At times it gets so hot in the gym you could do hot yoga in there.”

The new facility will be located on the same property as the current club, and it will be 41,000 square feet. The current club has capacity for roughly 230 children a day, and the new building will have space for 600. In addition to an air-conditioned gym, the new spot will offer separate areas for students depending on their ages, with dedicated space for academic, athletic and character-building programs.

State Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, was among several local officials who attended the ceremony, and he had high praise for the impact the program can have on the community.

“In Tallahassee often times we are spending money to fix problems that could have been avoided if we had more programs like the Boys and Girls Club,” Galvano said.

Caleb Grimes, the chairman of the fundraising campaign, announced that the club had already raised roughly $4.4 million.

Construction on the new building is set to begin in the next year, and once construction begins officials estimate it will take 18 months to complete. The current facility will remain open throughout construction, and once the new facility is built the old one will be razed.

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Fundraisers set sights on a new club for DeSoto."