| story by | Alissa Bauer |
Lawrence’s Center for Great Futures continues vital work of previous teen center.
The Don & Beverly Gardner Center for Great Futures, photo by Jason Daily
On a sticky, humid September afternoon in 2018, Boys & Girls Clubs of America president and CEO Jim Clark stood on a small stage at 2910 Haskell Ave. The words he delivered still serve as a source of pride.
“This is, in my mind, the most important event taking place in the United States of America today,” Clark said in his speech. “The reason it is so significant is because it’s about the future of this country. It’s about creating great futures for these teens and youth that will come through the doors of this beautiful facility every single day.”
The Don & Beverly Gardner Center for Great Futures (CGF) became an instant hit upon opening its doors on Aug. 16, 2018. The previous teen center was in the building at 1520 Haskell Ave. While it was well-loved, the deteriorating building was overflowing with teens. Only 60 kids could attend per day. Within the first year at CGF, the average daily attendance had doubled. In its second year, the Center for Great Futures brought in more than 150 kids each day.
“We were hopeful this place would take off, but there are always worries,” explains Monica Dittmer, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club (BGC) of Lawrence. “But to watch this place fill up as soon as the busses drop off teens from the middle schools and high schools—I couldn’t be prouder of this entire team. This is what we hoped for.”
Amy Hill has served as the director of teen services since 2016 and has built a robust staff that specializes in understanding and meeting the variety of challenges that middle- and high-school students face on a daily basis. Each of them understands that the reasons for a teen attending Boys & Girls Club are very different than an elementary child.
photos by Amy Hill, Jim Clark, Monica Dittmer
“Our teens share with us that the staff is the main reason that they come here,” Hill says. “That is one of the best things you can hear as a youth-development professional. We want this to be a safe and empowering place for the youth that we serve. Teens today are facing more mental-health stress and emotional challenges than I have seen in nearly 20 years of working with youth. Of course, we want to support them academically and physically, but I’m very proud of how we can support kids emotionally, as well.”
We cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account. We must hope to give them a sense of what it means to be a loyal friend, a loving parent, a citizen who leaves his home, his neighborhood and town better than he found it. 
–George H.W> Bush
The staff at the Center for Great Futures makes fun a focal point. Hill, along with her middle-school specialist (Ne’Kye Sheppard) and high-school specialist (Charon Dillon), are well aware of the other ways teens could be spending their time. Rather than trying to compete with those factors, the teen team embraces them. The staff checks in on club members who aren’t able to come to BGC because of play, choir or sports practices. Hill is known for sitting in the bleachers at basketball games or in the stands at football games and track meets. The staff even planned a group field trip to the Lawrence High vs. Free State High basketball game this winter.
“The fastest way we could lose their interest is by saying, ‘Well kid, you have to choose between us or them,’ ” Hill says. “We want our teen members to know we will literally cheer for them as they try new sports or excel at something they love. We encourage them to have the confidence to try out for a play or sing in the choir. That’s what growing up is all about, living and learning.”
Building up confidence happens in a multitude of ways at the Center for Great Futures. The culinary kitchen, shared with the Lawrence College and Career Center, is not only where nightly dinners are prepared, it’s also where the teens get to try their hand at cooking for the first—or 100th —time. The performing arts studio held BGC’s very first play, giving stage time to young actors who weren’t quite ready to audition for their school play. The gym houses kid favorites ranging from the Ball 4 All teen-only basketball league to the club’s first Stepping Team.
As the Center for Great Futures grows, the current staff and members take great pride in recruiting new members. Each spring, Hill, her staff and several teen members act as ambassadors. They invite the fifth-graders from all 14 elementary schools to take a tour of CGF. They answer questions about how the teen center is different from the elementary program and why sticking with the club past fifth grade is a great decision.
“Honestly, that is the best we can hope for,” BGC of Lawrence’s Dittmer says. “The longer we can keep a kid in the club, the more we can impact their lives in a positive way. My dream would be to welcome every kid into the club as a kindergartner and see them through high-school graduation. The Center for Great Futures makes that dream more of a reality every day.”
To get more information or to enroll at the Center for Great Futures, please contact Amy Hill at ahill@bgclk.org
