One year ago, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lanier opened a program in Habersham County. The club is a legacy to Tim Lee, the former Economic Development Director for Habersham County. Lee’s widow Annette Lee explains, “Tim had a dream before he died to provide help and support for young people and future leaders within the county. After he passed away, people came together to make his dream happen.”
In its first year, the club reached students in all of the county’s elementary schools through after-school programs, developing a total of 20 extension sites, and is now in its second year of summer camps. The summer program has grown so much that a second camp is being conducted at Demorest Elementary School. In fact, a total of 180 children are in camp this summer with a long waiting list of families hoping slots will open up for their children. That’s up from 100 students last summer.
Qymane Brawner, the Unit Director, says, “The potential for growth here is huge. We averaged 85 children this past year and next year we could easily have 100-110 students in our onsite programs during the school year.”
Unfortunately, the one thing holding back the numerical growth of the program is the set ratio of students to staff members. Brawner explains that they use a 15 to 1 ratio, meaning fifteen students per staffer. While volunteers are helpful, they are assigned to work with a staffer and are not counted in that ratio. At this time, the club has only six funded positions.
The summer program has also put an emphasis on working on the learning loss many children have experienced during the COVID pandemic. Tutoring has become an important function during the summer programming followed by weekly field trips on Friday that support and enhance that week’s tutoring focus.
The program has already had true success. During the first year, students showed a 95% improvement in math and 78% improvement in reading. Besides educational support, the club also teaches good character and citizenship.
It’s all about the students
As much as staff members can give positive reports of what’s happening through the work of the Boys & Girls Club, the students themselves give glowing reviews. One group of students in Ms. Becky Murphy’s art class were especially talkative and asked to be interviewed.
Ten-year-old Jayde Baxter is headed into the fourth grade. Her favorite part of camp? “I love learning about art,” she says. “I wanna be an art teacher when I grow up.” Ethan Frederick, another art student agrees. “I already know what I’m going to do,” the nine-year-old explained. “I’m going to be a graffiti artist and paint on the walls, with the companies’ permission of course.”
Student Aubree Grier prefers being in the gym. “I love sports,” she says. “The best sport we play here is kickball, but basketball is my favorite.” Tristan Isaacs, another ten-year-old, says he enjoys camp most of the time. He doesn’t really like being tutored but agrees it probably is important.
The community’s involvement is essential
Annette Lee, who now serves on the Club’s Board of Directors, emphasizes the importance of what the Tim Lee Club accomplishes in Habersham County.
“We’ve recognized a need in the community and we’ve done something to address that. If I could say one thing to the community, it would be to please support us! Come take a tour and see what we do here. I’ve never seen anyone come here to check us out that they didn’t leave with a sense of the importance of what we do here.”
Art teacher Becky Murphy has a different kind of request. “I just wish we had paper for the kids to draw on,” she said. “Seriously . . . we just need paper.”
To set up your own tour, or to see how you can help, contact director Qymane Brawner at 706-903-4131. The Tim Lee Club is located at 2664 Hwy 197, Mt. Airy, Georgia 30563.
