KEKAHA — The Boys &Girls Club of Hawai‘i announced the opening of its first school-based site in West Kaua‘i — the St. Theresa Clubhouse — when the facility welcomed its first students on Wednesday.
The new site, formerly the St. Theresa School library, is located within the St. Theresa Catholic School, and will serve as an expansion to the West Kaua‘i Clubhouse following a surge in enrollment of the elementary-aged keiki.
“We went from 30 students to 60 students,” said Tina Albao of the Boys &Girls Club. “We were lucky to have secured the space. We hired new staff to accommodate, and can now take care of the keiki.”
The original West Kaua‘i Clubhouse located in the Easter Seals Hawai‘i building, adjacent to Waimea High School, will transition into a dedicated teen center designed to meet the needs of teenage youths.
Albao said the St. Theresa Clubhouse will accommodate students from primarily Kekaha Elementary School and St. Theresa School, while the West Kaua‘i Clubhouse will accommodate students from primarily Waimea Canyon Middle School and Waimea High School.
“This change ensures that both our younger and older members receive age-appropriate programs and services tailored to their development stages,” said Paddy Kauhane, president and CEO of Boys &Girls Club of Hawai‘i. “St. Theresa Catholic School has made it possible for us to expand our services to more at-promise youth in Waimea and Kekaha.”
Located in Kekaha, just a few minutes westward of the West Kaua‘i Clubhouse, the St. Theresa Clubhouse will provide an additional 2,000 square feet of program space to offer activities like homework study, physical fitness, Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), mentoring and high-yield learning.
A facet of the new space surprised Albao when she was greeted with a big colorful rainbow spanning the width of the room.
“This is amazing,” she said. “We have our teens working on project that involve work skills development. One of our teen members working on a logo design came up with a rainbow anchored by a pair of hibiscus.”
The expanded capacity means 30 more members can enroll in the West Kaua‘i Clubhouse with the goal of welcoming more youth in the future.
“As our first school-based site, we are able to make our programs more accessible by expanding enrollment and meeting youth where they are,” said Lean Subia, the director of the West Kaua‘i Clubhouse, who will also oversee the St. Theresa Clubhouse.
“We look forward to welcoming new and returning members to the safe and supportive environment where they can learn, grow, and achieve their full potential.”
Wendy Castillo, who recently retired as St. Theresa School principal to become a full-time eighth grade teacher said, “It is an honor to open our space to the Boys &Girls Club of Hawai‘i, and offer students another enriching after-school option. It brings us peace of mind knowing they will have a safe place where they can continue to learn from mentors who believe in them and receive meals they can count on.”
For more information on the Boys &Girls Club or the new site at St. Theresa School — visit www.bgch.com. To make a donation to the new school-based site, contact Albao at talbao@bgch.com.
