A victory for kids
POST FALLS - Ryan Davis calls this week "surreal."
After seven years of fundraising and several years of brainstorming before that, ground will be broken on Wednesday on the facility the nonprofit Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County will call its own.
"It goes back several years and a lot of people have put a large chunk of their life toward making this happen," said Davis, the club's executive director. "It's humbling when you think about how the community has stepped up for kids."
The groundbreaking ceremony for the 10,000-square-foot, $1.3 million facility at 200 W. Mullan Ave. next to the Post Falls Library will be at 4:30 p.m. The public is invited. Completion is expected between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The club's fundraising fun runs in memory of Jordan Johnson, who the club will be named after, will be on Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Greyhound Park and Event Center.
Johnson, a former Post Falls student-athlete who was known for being friends with all students, died in 2006 at 15 due to a heart condition.
"We made the commitment several years ago to name the club after Jordan so it's exciting to follow through with that," Davis said.
After the mile, 5K and 10K fun runs, check-in starts at 10 for the Ice Cream Challenge going for the world record of people simultaneously licking ice cream for a minute.
The club has received about $1.3 million in donations and pledges for the facility's construction. About $500,000 in pledges are being sought and are expected to come in this year.
The club is still raising funds for operating expenses after the facility opens. It will include a gym, kitchen, technology area, teen area and open space for games and programs.
The building was downsized from its original plan of 18,000 square feet estimated to cost $2.5 million, but will be built for future expansion.
Polin and Young will build the facility, while M.L. Architect is doing the design work.
The club has operated after-school and summer programs for kids ages 6-18 out of the Nazarene Church in Post Falls across from Mullan Trail Elementary since 2007.
It later expanded programs into Coeur d'Alene at Lakes Magnet School and, most recently, Sorensen Elementary.
The club has about 500 members, including 400 in Post Falls. About 175 are enrolled for the summer program in Post Falls and there's a waiting list of more than 100.