Boys & Girls Club planned for Summerlin area

Location envisioned following merger of Las Vegas, Henderson clubs

"All for one and one for all."

Dulcinea Almazan, vice president of development with the former Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas, borrowed the "Three Musketeers" quote to describe the recent merger of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Henderson and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas to form the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada.

"Over the last 20 years or so, support has become splintered and divided," said MaryKaye Cashman, former board chairwoman of Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas. "We hope this will bring people home."

Ron Lurie, former president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Henderson, said there are many reasons a united chapter is best.

"It's easier for the donors. We'll have one of the strongest nonprofit boards, and, most importantly, it's better for the kids and the development of programs," he said.

The new chapter plans to add two or three more clubs, including one in the Summerlin area.

"Kids (in Summerlin) are just as at-risk as any other socioeconomic background," Cashman said.

The critical area for a club is within a 3-mile radius of the children's home or school. Lurie said that if the clubs are farther away than that, it becomes a stretch, which is why more clubs are important.

Cashman and Lurie now serve as co-chairmen of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada.

After hearing a graduating student thank the Boys & Girls Clubs for saving her life during the annual luncheon in 2000, Cashman said she was so moved that she had to get involved.

"She spoke with such passion and feeling about how the Boys & Girls Clubs was the one constant thing she could count on," Cashman said. "It became crystal clear at that moment that the Boys & Girls Clubs actually change lives."

Soon after the luncheon, a former board member asked Cashman if she would donate. She gave $100,000.

"Who knows what I would have given if he asked me (the day of the luncheon)," she said.

Board members are expected to donate on their own or raise $5,000 a year.

"It's a critical factor when we're looking for grants that our board members participate," Cashman said.

There are 60 board members involved in the Southern Nevada chapter.

Lurie has been involved with Boys & Girls Clubs since the early 1980s.

"I just think, Where would these kids go if they weren't here?" Lurie said. "There are 20,000 kids that have a positive place to go. A lot of kids are coming here from broken homes. They feel safe and get their homework done."

There are currently 13 clubs, including two that are under construction, five from the former Henderson chapter and eight from the former Las Vegas chapter. Clubs in the Southern Nevada chapter are located in Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, Mesquite and Pahrump. There are 20,000 participants.

Children from 5 to 18 years old are invited to participate in the before- and after-school program. Many clubs stay open all day for track break programs and during the summer, as well.

Participants get free breakfast and lunch and can purchase snacks after school. Depending on the club's distance from nearby schools, children can be walked or bused to and from their school.

While at the club, children participate in character and leadership development, education and career development, learn health and life skills, and take part in the arts, sports, fitness and recreation programs, as well as do homework.

Tuition for the Boys & Girls Clubs is based on parents' income and can cost anywhere from $5 to $75 a week per child.