Club comes to campus

Huntington Beach will soon have the first Boys & Girls Club in the state on a college campus.

The Huntington Valley Boys & Girls Club held a Construction Celebration on June 10 on a child-development preschool at Golden West College. The Boys & Girls Club already held its ground breaking ceremony on the project in April, but it took longer than expected to actually dig into the ground, said Tanya Hoxsie, the chief executive of the Huntington Valley Boys & Girls Club.

The new facility will replace the existing child development center on a 3-acre portion of Golden West College at 15744 Goldenwest St. The facility is the first of three phases of the organization’s $7-million Building Dreams campaign, which will eventually bring a gymnasium and two-story Boys & Girls Club to the campus.

The first phase is expected to be completed by early November, Hoxsie said.

The campaign has raised about $3.5 million so far, but is still trying to raise the remaining funds for the project, she said.

Through the years, Hoxsie said everyone has thought the project was a good idea, but because of the economic situation no one could help contribute. Finally, they have received enough contributions to start the first phase.

The preschool will be named after Robert Mayer, the first major contributor to the project with a $500,000 donation.

The expansion will allow the club to expand its services to the northeast portion of Huntington Beach. The preschool will be open to children six months to 5 years old with special enrollment opportunities and scholarships for children of Golden West students.

The project will allow children that might not have normally learned the importance of college and let them grow up on a college campus, giving them the opportunity to think about it everyday, Hoxsie said.

“This project hasn’t been easy for our Boys & Girls Club, but we know it’s the right thing,” she said.

Anyone interesting in contributing to the Building Dreams Campaign can call (714) 593-0753.