The Boys & Girls Club of the Kenai Peninsula and Triumvirate Theater will benefit from a portion of nearly $500 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2023.
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski announced the funding allocations for Alaska recently, which included 13 additional community-driven projects on the Kenai Peninsula.
Boys and Girls Club of the Kenai Peninsula
The Boys and Girls Club of the Kenai Peninsula will receive $4.6 million to be put towards the construction of a new clubhouse for the Boys and Girls Club of the Kenai Peninsula in Kenai.
Mike Navarre, a board member with the Boys & Girls Club of the Kenai Peninsula explains why the club requested the federal funds;
“The reason we asked for this funds, is so that we can build our clubhouse in Kenai. And expand and continue to serve the number of kids we do throughout our community, there’s a great need out there. The Boys and Girls Club has been serving that need for nearly thirty years, it’s an extraordinary program and I want to thank Senator Murkowski for her efforts in helping us to secure this grant.”
Many across the Kenai have and continue to support the Boys and Girls Club, Navarre spotlights some of the local supporters;
“We asked Senator Murkowski for some funds in order to help us build a clubhouse. There has been a lot of local community support, we got a behest in the will of Royce Roberts and his wife Melba, of about five million dollars. We got some money from the Rasmussen Foundation, we raised some money through our fundraisers, like the Boys and Girls Club auction and our golf tournament. We got great community support.”
Heading into the new year, Navarre discussed the timeline for construction;
“You know the timeline is, now that we have the funds secured from a variety of sources, we’ll have to see exactly when the funds get released from the federal government. But, you know were going to be hopefully under construction sometime in 2023.”
Alaska Children’s Institute for the Preforming Arts
The Alaska Children’s Institute, also known as the Triumvirate Theater, was also included in Consolidated Appropriations Act and will receive $1 million to rebuild a community theater in Kenai.
President of the Alaska Children’s Institute for the Preforming Arts, Joe Rizzo was surprised with the funding;
“It’s gonna make a huge difference and this was something that we were waiting on. And, we weren’t banking on it, because we weren’t really sure if it was going to happen or not. When it did, it completely changed everything for us.”
Rizzo explains the impact of the one million dollars;
“One million dollars for Triumvirate Theater to rebuild he community theater is a huge deal for us. The arts make kids smarter, forge life-long friendships and create the leaders for tomorrow. When a fire destroyed our community’s children’s theatre it was really devastating. This funding obtained for the rebuilding of the theater by Senator Murkowski’s efforts is really a game changer for us. The theater and all its life-changing programs for youth will rise from the ashes, so we are very grateful to Senator Murkowski’s office for this congressionally directed spending. Her staff was amazing to work with and were right on it and very responsive. And the children and youth in this community are going to thrive, because we are going to be able to continue these programs and have a place for the kids to be and stage for them to perform.”
To read the full list of over 130 Alaska projects, click here.
