With physical expansions and growth cresting the horizon, the Hopkinsville Boys & Girls Club still has new ideas to unveil this summer.
That’s according to its executive director Terrence Davis, who during Tuesday’s Hopkinsville Rotary Club meeting noted this will be the summer of “career development and workforce readiness” for its frequent-flying teenagers, needing guidance for those first adult steps.
This, he said, will require new programming for high schoolers.
Furthermore, Davis once again confirmed that the new Fab Lab expansion is going to allow for student business ventures — particularly in graphic design, 3-D printing and screen printing.
An adult mentorship program, as well as an internship program, will start paring younger adults with older ones — in order to foster maturity and professional development.
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges for kids right now, Davis added, is seeing a promising future.
And one of the biggest detractors to success, he urged, is social media.
Also of note:
— Nine Hopkinsville Rotarians are currently on the Boys & Girls Club of Hopkinsville Board of Directors. Davis, a member of Hopkinsville’s Kiwanis Club, thanked the organization for its tireless efforts.
— The Walnut Street Stadium is completely down, with plans for the space still “way down the line.” Eventually, Davis said it will become an elementary school wing, with the main facility more focused as a full teen center.
— Ground is already broken for an expansion on the Teen Fab Lab, which will create a brand-new 2,000-square-foot space. Davis noted the improved 3-D printing, laser cutting, t-shirt making, graphic design studio and podcast bay will be available by this fall. The current STEAM Lab will then be transformed into an e-sports arena, where e-sports continues to increase in popularity with young students.
Club Vice Chair and Rotarian Cody Noffsinger noted that some club kids were able to recently attend Comic Con in Indianapolis, and were able to showcase their 3-D printed cosplay materials, like Mandalorian and Spiderman masks, while there. Davis also said that students learned wiring and soldering techniques when crafting their own makeshift lightsabers, a weapon made famous from the Jedi Knights in the Star Wars saga.
— With sixth-grade students headed back to the Christian County Public Schools middle-age gap, Davis said he and his staff didn’t feel comfortable mixing 11-year-olds with 16-and-17-year-olds in their current Teen Center. As such, a “Tween Center” is being developed in one unused location on the campus for an add-on. He said it should be complete by this December, or January 2025.
— For the 2023-24 school year, Davis said the facility has averaged 90 kids, or more, a day receiving a “hot and healthy meal.” A partnership with the Commonwealth provides a cost reimbursement for a feeding program, and partnerships with local restaurants like Panera make a difference.
— With roughly 15 employees, Davis said the organization is 90% staff, 10% volunteer, and that new job opportunities will be available as the property continues its development. The top capacity for the summer programs is 150, Davis added, in order to leave room for activities, as opposed to warehousing them.
