Efforts to bring a Boys & Girls Club site to Hawthorne are underway. The Community Leadership Committee, chaired by Barb Owens, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley have been in discussion for several months now about opening a site in the Mineral County seat. Owens, the current recreation coordinator for Mineral County, approached the Club’s board of directors in March with the idea to open an extension of the youth organization in Hawthorne. The board voted to begin aiding Owens, and instructed her to put together a committee of locals to help lead the efforts.

“Right now Mineral County Parks and Rec just provides sports programming to the youth of Hawthorne,” Owens said. “We are anxious to reach out to kids with other interests.”

Owens believes the Club would be a perfect fit in the community and give kids a safe place to go after school. However, Club officials say that it’s very important to gain local support before opening a Club in a new area.

“The support of the community and local dollars are going to be very important as we move forward with this project,” said Christina Hurt, director of development for Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley.

Several local entities, including Hawthorne Elks Lodge 1704 and the Bureau of Land Management, have already donated. BLM donated as part of their employee giving.

“It’s long overdue that we have a facility dedicated to youth,” said Steve McBride, Exalted Ruler of the Elks Lodge. McBride said that supporting youth programs is what the Elks are all about.

Other than raising funds, a few tasks lie ahead of the committee and Club, such as securing a location and building a membership base.

“I’m confident we’ll have the numbers when we open,” said Travis Crowder, CPO. “Hawthorne is a lot like Silver Springs, where we see almost 80 kids daily.”