CINCINNATI — The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati held a ground breaking ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the construction of a brand new facility.
The new club will be a $7 million development that aims to serve over 700 families in the nearby area.
It's been in the works for over a year now, spearheaded by community leaders and driven by demand. Boys and Girls Clubs throughout the city were full to bursting this past summer, with kids being wait-listed.
Councilmember Liz Keating said over the summer that the Roll Hill facility has been in the works since 2018. She said the facility would be important, because the neighborhood of Roll Hill has been overlooked and underfunded for years.
“Roll Hill has I believe 50% of their population is 18 and under. This is desperately needed,” she said in June.
Currently, the Boys and Girls Club is working to serve kids in the Villages at Roll Hill through a program at the nearby elementary school, but that program can only host 50 children after school.
The club hopes to be able to meet the needs of up to 300 children of all ages once the new facility opens, including providing opportunities like sports, mentorships, homework sessions and access to arts.
The CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati, Bill Bresser, said he's very excited about the long lasting impact this will have.
"Many of our kids grow up there so they don't just come for a year. A lot of them if you talk to, especially some of the older ones, they've been there 10 years," he said. "And that's deep. It becomes a second family. A lot of times that's where a lot of our kids grow up after school. A lot of the families rely on us."
The new Boys and Girls Club is set to open in 2024.
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