Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio not reopening 22 locations ahead of 2023-2024 school year

After losing nearly $3 million in federal funding, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio (BGCNEO) will not reopen 22 locations ahead of the 2023-2024 school year, the organization announced on Wednesday.

The regions most impacted by the funding loss are Cuyahoga and Lorain counties. Nine clubs in Cuyahoga and eight in Lorain will not be reopening, the organization announced. There will also be a reduction in staffing across the organization’s footprint, but decisions on how to move forward are still being finalized.

While BGCNEO will have a smaller footprint, the goal is to serve as many children as possible this coming school year, a BGCNEO spokesperson told The Land. The organization also continues to hope for additional funding to come in and allow for impacted Clubs to reopen at some point this school year.

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Decisions on which Clubs would not reopen were made based on a few factors: First, how could BGCNEO serve the most children possible. Then, the organization prioritized Clubs in buildings owned by BGCNEO and Clubs funded by local schools or through multi-year federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, BGCNEO said in a statement. A full list of Clubs that will remain open in the coming school year is at the bottom of this article.

Prior to this decision, BGCNEO operated 49 clubs throughout Northeast Ohio. Only 27 of those locations will remain open this fall after the organization lost nearly $3 million in federal funding. Most of the lost funding came from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families money and leftover pandemic relief dollars, the organization said in a statement sent to The Land.

In May, the Clubs announced a fundraising campaign to try and close the gap. A public Save Our Clubs campaign was run alongside a corporate giving campaign. BGCNEO CEO Allen Smith said the campaign brought in more than $700,000 and preserved several clubs for the year. But the funding wasn’t enough to overcome the loss of federal money.

It costs at least $120,000 a year to operate a single Club location, according to BGCNEO. Leadership said they would not reopen a site unless a full-year of funding was secured.

“Our goal has not changed – we want to serve as many kids as possible in Northeast Ohio,” Smith said in a statement. “We have been encouraged by the support we’ve received from the community during this difficult time and will continue to look for ways we can serve more youth in more places.”

The following Clubs WILL be open during the coming school year:

• Cuyahoga County (7): Broadway, King Kennedy, East Tech, Joseph Gallagher, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John Adams and Saint Luke’s.
• Lorain County (12): Desich Family Campus, Elyria South, Westview Terrace, Brookside, Frank Jacinto, Larkmoor, Palm, Washington, Admiral King, Clearview Durling, Garfield and Vincent.
• Summit County (4): Steve Wise, LeBron James, Barberton and Lincoln.
• Erie County (2): Sandusky Teen Center and The Regional Center for Arts & Academic Studies.
• Huron County (2): New London and Norwalk.

And the following Clubs WILL NOT be reopening this school year:

• Cuyahoga County: Mound, Stepstone Academy, Bolton, Marion C. Seltzer, Miles Park, Euclid Park, Garfield Elmwood and Garfield Maple Leaf.
• Lorain County: General Johnnie Wilson Middle School, Stevan Dohanos Elementary, Wellington Westwood, Knollwood, Wellington McCormick, Toni Morrison, Elyria Westwood and Ely Elementary.
• Summit County: Helen Arnold
• Erie County: Vermilion Sailorway Middle School, Vermilion Elementary and Sandusky Intermediate.
• Ashtabula County: Huron Primary School.

Smith said families impacted by the closures should use BGCNEO’s website to search for new Clubs. There is a Club Finder feature that allows families to search for nearby facilities based on address or county.

To learn more about BGCNEO or to donate to their campaign, visit the BGCNEO website.