KUNA, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Dozens of people gathered at the Old 4th Street Gym in Kuna for the groundbreaking ceremony for Kuna’s new Boys & Girls Club facility on Friday.
Just around the corner, children at the club lined up for a turn on a large inflatable waterslide and chanted their friends’ names as they worked up the courage to take the plunge down to the bottom of the slide.
The current club, which is housed inside the over 70-year-old gym, can serve approximately 300 kids and has a waitlist that is over 125 kids long. The new facility will have the capacity for 1,200 kids. Boys & Girls Club of Ada County Executive Director Colleen Braga said the new facility will open up the opportunity to bring programs that already exist at other locations to Kuna.
According to Braga, 95% of working residents in Kuna are employed outside of Kuna. This makes childcare a crucial service to the community.
“There aren’t very many affordable and accessible services in Kuna and unfortunately, we’ve had a waiting list pretty much since the day we opened in 2008,” Braga said. “It’s so important to have these kind of resources so families can work and know that the kids are in a safe, supervised, fun place.”
Braga said for the first time, the Kuna Boys & Girls Club will be able to host teenagers. And thanks to a partnership with local nonprofit Giraffe Laugh the club will also be able to provide early child care for children ages 0-5. She described the new facility, which will be located south of Deer Flat Road between Linder Avenue and School Avenue, as “27,000 square feet of awesomeness.”
The groundbreaking was held at the current location due to issues with parking at the actual worksite.
She said none of this would have been possible without the support and donations from local companies and members of the community.
“It is really humbling how many donors and volunteers have stepped up because they saw the need here in Kuna,” Braga said to the crowd in attendance.
CS Beef Packers was the lead donor, with a contribution of $4 million. Plant Manager Steve Cherry spoke with pride as he described why the company decided to get involved with the Boys & Girls Club:
“It came from a desire to help our own team members with child care services,” Cherry said. “We currently have about 125 of our folks live in Kuna and a lot of other folks could benefit from what we’re in the process of doing here.”
Kuna Mayor Joe Stear said the new club will help to fill the void of a recreation center in the community, a void that exists due to insufficient funding to build one. He said the new facility will be a great asset to the community.
“It gives a good place for kids to go to get some good direction from some good mentors,” Stear said.
Braga said she expects the new facility to be completed by late spring of 2024. She said staff are hoping the facility is open by next summer, especially since the current location doesn’t have air conditioning.
More information about the Kuna Boys & Girls Club can be found on the organization’s website.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.