Over $5M Raised So Far For Boys & Girls Club’s Teen Center

Over $5 million has been raised, which is over half of the $10 million goal the Boys & Girls Club of West Central Missouri has set for its new Teen Center, to be located in the 600 block of East 3rd Street in Sedalia, according to Assistant Director of Development Gabrielle White.

Funding sources for the Bold Vision, Bright Future capital campaign includes local donations, foundations and grants that specifically support brick and mortar projects like the Teen Center and government funding through New Market Tax Credits.

The New Markets Tax Credit Program incentivizes community development and economic growth through the use of tax credits that attract private investment to distressed communities such as Sedalia.

Historically, low-income communities experience a lack of investment, as evidenced by vacant commercial properties, outdated manufacturing facilities, and inadequate access to education and healthcare service providers. The New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program) aims to break this cycle of disinvestment by attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local economies.

The NMTC Program attracts private capital into low-income communities by permitting individual and corporate investors to receive a tax credit against their federal income tax in exchange for making equity investments in specialized financial intermediaries called Community Development Entities (CDEs). The credit totals 39 percent of the original investment amount and is claimed over a period of seven years, according to the US Department of the Treasury.

The Teen Center will be built on Third Street across the street from the historic Katy Depot. This strategic location will bring a Boys & Girls Club Site back to the downtown area while also allowing easy access to the Katy Trail and surrounding neighborhoods. Boys & Girls Club acquired the land and plans to break ground in Fall 2024, according to the club's website.

The Boys & Girls Club Teen Center will offer 30,000 square feet of space for junior high and high school students to take part in academic programs and homework help, workforce development, life skills and leadership and mentoring opportunities.

The Boys & Girls Club Teen Center will serve students from Smith-Cotton Junior High School and Smith-Cotton High School.

Some students struggle with mental health, food insecurity, bullying and peer pressure, alcohol and drugs, teen pregnancy, poverty and homelessness. The new Teen Center hopes to address these issues.

The Club, which serves more than 1,600 kids in 14 sites across four counties, will celebrate its 65th anniversary in 2025.

For more information, call  (660) 826-8331 or visit https://www.facebook.com/bgckidsmo.