Although it’s only been about six months since its campaign was announced, the fundraising goal for a new Boys & Girls Club in West Odessa has almost been reached.
David Chancellor, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Permian Basin, said the goal is $2 million and $1.9 million has been collected so far. He plans to sell brick pavers at the $200 and $500 level and hopes to raise $30,000 to $40,000 from that.
“I think there are so many people who over the years have been a part of the Boys & Girls Club that they would like to do that,” Chancellor said.
He said he would post the paver option on the website, basinkids.org, so people can use their credit card to purchase a paver.
“With 30,000 people and four elementaries … there’s nothing out there for kids but dogs and sticks and rocks. It’s a deep need out there,” Chancellor said.
At any one time, up to 150 youngsters will be accommodated by the club, but it will serve about 500 youngsters during the year. With sports, it will serve 1,000, Chancellor said.
The club offers basketball, volleyball, flag football, tackle football and cheerleading, he said.
The West Odessa facility is a collaborative project with Ector County Independent School District where the club will have the building constructed on the property of Edward K. Downing Elementary School, 1480 N. Knox Ave.
The club will deed the building to the district in exchange for a long-term lease, Chancellor said.
“In February, the agreement will go before the school board. If they approve it, we will issue a request for bids four months later and hopefully break ground in the fall,” he said.
The facility will be 8,000 square feet and take about a year to complete. Chancellor has said he hopes to move in no later than the fall of 2019. JSA Architects was chosen as the architect.
“We’ve raised the money necessary for construction, but not the interiors so we’re looking for the computer labs, education room and multipurpose room. We need to raise about $100,000 for everything else,” Chancellor said.
The Wood and Headlee families made the two main gifts to make the facility possible, he added. He declined to say how much the Wood family gave, but said previously that James Headlee gave an anchor gift of $500,000.
Headlee is a longtime board member whose family was instrumental in building the Woodson Boys & Girls Club, Chancellor has said.
Overall, Chancellor said the club received about 60 percent of its contributions from Odessa and about 40 percent from Midland.
“That’s fantastic,” he said. “You don’t always get Midland giving that much. … It’s kind of humbling. I’ve raised a lot of money over the years between (being) a pastor and this and not one person has said no to this project. That’s how I raised it so easily. Everyone sees the need.”
Chancellor noted that 70 percent of the Boys & Girls Club’s operating income comes from private donations.
From the district’s viewpoint, ECISD Public Information Officer Mike Adkins said having a Boys & Girls Club next to a campus is a “great deal.”
Downing Elementary and the club will be just feet apart with a sidewalk between them, Chancellor said.
“We understand that the residents of West Odessa don’t have really close-by access to Boys & Girls Clubs, or other organizations like that that give kids a place to go after school that have that structure and leadership,” Adkins said. “It’s just such a natural fit. It’s the two of us working together to provide a safe for place for kids throughout the day, whether they’re in school or it’s after school.”
Chancellor said the Boys & Girls Club has a big annual celebration coming up from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. May 3 at Dos Amigos. It will honor Scott and Minka Sibert who own Cisco Equipment. It will be a $1,000 a table fundraiser and individual tickets will be sold, as well.
On April 12, comedian David Spade is scheduled to appear from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Midland Country Club. Tables for that are $5,000 apiece, Chancellor said.
Contributors can designate whether they want to give to clubs in Odessa or Midland, or both, he said.
