Boys & Girls Clubs of Redlands (Redlands, CA)

General

• Mission:

“To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.”

• History:

The Boys Club of Redlands was re-founded in 1967. We use the term “re-founded” due to documents from our National Office that date back to the forties. Because of these documents, we believe that the Redlands Club was established for a period of time, and for some unknown reason folded, only to rise again in August, 1967.

The re-founding Board was comprised of a group of businessmen concerned with the less advantaged youth –primarily Hispanic boys from the northside. An old packing house, located at 1125 North Sixth Street, was renovated and the doors were opened for youth programs in 1967.

By early 1978, the Club was outgrowing the Sixth Street Clubhouse. Working with United Way and the House of Neighborly Service Board, the Club was able to move to the empty facility located at 612 Lawton Street. The re-opening was in 1979.

In January, 1987, the Presbytery of Riverside, owners of the land at 612 Lawton, expressed their intentions to sell the land. With the imminent loss of the Lawton Clubhouse, the Club looked to establish an outreach site to conduct programs. After talking to the Redlands Unified School District, it was agreed that putting programs at Franklin and Mentone Elementary Schools would benefit the Club and the School District. The resulting outreach program won an award from Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

In August, 1998, the Board of Directors approved the change in the name of Club to reflect its expanded service to girl members. The Club filed its amendment to the Articles of Incorporation, to become the Boys & Girls Club of Redlands (BGCR).

The City of Redlands sought to preserve the history of the House of Neighborly Services and an appeal was put to the Presbytery of Riverside to convert the use of the House into a center for homeless. The plan was accepted and the property was saved. However, the re-use plan necessitated the use of the full facility and when renovation was started in 1990; BGCR was asked to leave.

The Club's Board of Directors decided to continue their outreach programs at Franklin and Mentone Schools. They also expanded and opened a site at the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino's community center located on Lugonia Avenue. The School District, under pressure to provide licensed extended day care at their schools, rescinded the Club's permission to hold programs at Franklin and Mentone Schools. By early 1991, the outreach programs at the schools ended, leaving only the Lugonia Site for Club programming.

In September, 1991, the Club expanded to the second Public Housing site in Redlands when they opened a location at the corner of Brockton and Texas. In 1992, the Club celebrated 25 years of "Hope & Opportunity" and rehabilitated a small three room building at 1235 Clay Street – providing an additional location to run programs.

Working with the Redlands Police Department, BGCR established a Teen Center within the community center on the northside. The Teen Center was chartered in 1999 and remained open until 2004. The Community Center was undergoing renovation and the space was needed for offices.

In September, 2001, the City of Redlands, on behalf of the Club, purchased 3 lots for the purpose of building a new clubhouse. The properties are located in north Redlands. The Board, two years earlier, had secured a $500,000 grant from HUD. These two actions created the foundation for a Capital Campaign.

In late, 2003 the Board began planning for the "Lets Build A Clubhouse" Capital Campaign, the first capital campaign in the Club's history. On December 7, 2007, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the Dennis Hansberger Clubhouse. Named after San Bernardino County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger who helped direct government funding towards the project.

BGCR currently operates in 5 locations: Brockton Site(Redlands),Bryn Mawr Site(Loma Linda),Dennis Hansberger Clubhouse(Redlands),Mentone Site(Mentone)and Waterman Gardens Site(San Bernardino). The organization serves 400 youth daily and over 1,500 youth annually.

• Year established:1967

Registration

• Organization type:Grantseeker
• Country of registration:United States
• Year established:1967
• Tax Determination Letter:Received Determination Letter
• IRS Section:501(c)(3)
• IRS Subsection:509(a)(1)

Web Listing

• Guidestar listed:Yes
• Charity Navigator listed:No
• Give.org listed:No
• Charity Watch listed:No