Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon to Celebrate 40th Years of Building Great Futures with Free Birthday Bash 2022 marks the 40th birthday of the Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon. Over the 40 years that the Club has been serving local communities, the needs have changed and challenges have evolved, but the community support has been a constant. To celebrate and thank the community for this support, the Club is hosting a Free Birthday Bash on May 21st from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

 

The event will be held at the Club’s Youth Center facility, 3333 Walnut Avenue in Coos Bay. There will be carnival games and prizes, live music by Def Cougar Mellencamp, Coos Bay Fire and Police vehicles, Elkhorn Barbeque and Pappa Dogs food trucks, and a free birthday treat.

 

Founded in April 1982, the Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon has been providing thousands of young people throughout Coos County with affordable, high-quality after-school and summer programs. This milestone is an opportunity for the Club to share and celebrate a continued mission to empower all young people to achieve their full potential as caring, productive, responsible community members.

 

Formally known as Southwestern Oregon Youth Activities, the organization began as a youth sports program when local school districts cut elementary sports programs from their budgets. Shortly after the organization’s inception, the Club also began offering SeaBreeze Sports Camps during the summer months. While the sports program remains an integral part of our programming, it was the Board of Governors’ 1992 decision to join Boys & Girls Clubs of America that changed the scope of the organization forever.

 

In 1993, the Club began offering educational enrichment classes ranging from watercolors to Forensic Science. In the early years, these classes were held after school and on the weekends in local schools. Continuing our expansion of program diversity, in 1995 the William J. Sweet Memorial Tennis Center opened and began offering tennis programs. That same year, the Pacific School of Dance joined the Boys & Girls Club and we continue to provide high-quality dance instruction to local young people.

 

In the year 2000, Gymnastics Plus joined the Club and we began offering a gymnastics program to area youth, from toddlers to college students. Later that year, the F. Willis Smith Youth Center opened the doors to a new beginning for many of our members, providing year-round Academic Success, Character & Leadership, and Healthy lifestyle opportunities for those that need it the most.