By John Sharp
A ribbon cutting celebrating the grand opening of the new Boys & Girls Club at Smith-Hale Middle School, 9010A Old Santa Fe Rd., will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 30.
Named in honor of former State Senator Shalonn “Kiki” Curls, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City, S. “Kiki” Curls Unit is the organization’s 12th location.
“We saw a need for a location in the south Kansas City area to focus on the middle school children,” said Sharon Cleaver, a spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City. “Middle school is when they start to think of their future and when we can make our greatest impact.”
The event will include remarks from Curls, executives of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City, Hickman Mills School District officials, Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe and other government leaders.
Having a full service Boys & Girls Club in south Kansas City has long been a goal of many of us in the area. The organization currently offers after school programming at Hillcrest Community Center.
Many of the children Boys & Girls Club serve don’t have the opportunity to play team sports, experience the arts or even use a computer. Its program helps children round out their educational, emotional, physical and moral development.