$2 million federal grant will help make new Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township center a reality

When the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township’s CEO headed to Washington last year to seek funding for a new center in Carpentersville, he figured $250,000 was the most his organization would get.

At the time, most community project grants topped out at $250,000. Drew Glassford made his best pitch and returned to D.C. with some of the youth his organization serves to make his case a second time.

It worked -- in a big way.

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi stopped at Perry Elementary School in Carpentersville to see one of the organization’s impact centers and deliver a $2 million check to help build out a new center at the former Woodland Elementary School, located a few blocks away.

“Because of the compelling nature of this program, because of the needs of this program, because of the incredible positive blessings that it confers on the community, I decided to go all out,” the Schaumburg Democrat said during Friday’s presentation.

Last fall, the Dundee Township Park District agreed to purchase the former school from Barrington Community Unit School District 220. The park district will keep the land around the school, but the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township, which is paying for the property, will keep the school building and the parking lot for the new Woodland Impact Center.

The $2 million presented Friday will be used to renovate the school into the organization’s newest impact center, which provides academic services, mentoring, counseling services and various STEM programs.

Krishnamoorthi said he was inspired by the children he met Glassford visited with him last year. Krishnamoorthi also said he was impressed by the programs offered by the organization.

“They were just so excited and enthusiastic about the STEM field ... I wanted to make sure they realize their potential,” Krishnamoorthi said, adding that careers in the STEM field continue to grow and programs like this help students.

The impact center at Perry allows students to learn more about STEM and participate in projects such as creating a phone charger that runs off wind power or a cooking class in the culinary arts lab.

“It’s an access to opportunities (students) might not get otherwise,” said Martina Smith, who recently was named to succeed Community Unit District 300 Superintendent Susan Harkin when Harkin retires at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

Smith noted District 300 has eight schools that work with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township.

“Maybe they have something they’re curious about. This is a place where they can come and learn more about it,” Smith said of the impact center at Perry and the programs it offers.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township serves about 2,000 students annually in six communities, including Carpentersville. Glassford noted that 91% of the students the organization serves are at the poverty level.

“They can’t afford club activities,” Glassford said.

Glassford said the organization plans to close on the Woodland School property within the next two weeks. He anticipates opening the new center in the spring of 2025.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20230120/2-million-federal-grant-will-help-make-new-boys-amp-girls-clubs-center-a-reality