The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula have secured their “forever home” in Kenai, officially taking over the Kenai Peninsula Community Care Center.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula Board President Jeff Dolifka outlined the purchase;
“We just finally finalized our deal to purchase the Kenai Peninsula Community Care Center in Kenai; it’s a building over on South Spruce. It’s been about a year in the making, there’s been a lot that’s gone into this but today was the culmination of that and tomorrow it records and the building becomes the Boys and Girls Clubs.”
Dolifka explains the the process began with a donation;
“The fire was kind of lit by a donation that we received and then a lot of other things kind of came in line. But the building itself presented itself from the board at the Kenai Peninsula Community Care Center and it was just was a perfect fit for our needs. We’re gonna have to do a little bit of remodels and things to get to where we need, but it just was a kind of a match made in heaven.”
Dolifka outlines the uses for the new facility;
“But the plan is to move the admin offices and a lot of our our sports programming will move over there. Even with this building we’re gonna be again partnering with the school district, we’re still gonna have to use the rec center, other gym space so it doesn’t completely alleviate all those needs, but it will help definitely.”
According to Dolfika, The Boys and Girls Clubs will put the remodel project out to bid over the next few weeks, with plans for construction over the remainder of 2023 and an official move in the Spring of 2024.
Since the mid-70’s, the Kenai Peninsula Boys and Girls Club has provided activities and services to the youth of the Kenai Peninsula; dating back to the original foundation of the club.
Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings, who is the treasurer of the Kenai Peninsula Community Care Center group, who was present for the transfer of the facility, discusses the history of the Boys and Girls Club on the Kenai;
“It started in 1973 and as I’ve often said, if it wasn’t for Bruce Bartel, August “Augie” Aamodt and Beth Teschner, who the two gentlemen were Methodist pastors and Beth Teschner was a public health nurse. So, they saw what was going on in our community and they knew there was a need. So, they brought the people of Kenai, well, Central Peninsula together and there were council people from Soldotna, from Kenai, there were doctors, lawyers, nurses and they got donated funds to take over the old FAA barracks. And one of our directors was Billy Hardy. Her daughter is still in town as Shannon Davis. We all know Shannon and she was a little girl and Billy was our executive director.”
