Cross-Posted From The NonProfit Times
***
What do a strip club and the Boys and Girls Club have in common? That
seems like an absurd question but the two do have a connection – at
least in Ohio.
Pending approval by the city, the site of a
former strip club in Union Township, Ohio will become the home of the
third Boys and Girl Club in Clermont County, Ohio.
Déjà Vu
Showgirls Strip Club -- part of Déjà Vu Consulting, which owns 75 adult
entertainment clubs in 16 states -- occupied the property at 516 Old
Ohio 74 until the club closed in December 2011. The now-abandoned
property was purchased Nov. 8, for $300,000 by the Union Township
Community Improvement Corp. (CIC). Among the property’s new tenants will
be, pending approval of the purchase, the locals Boys and Girls Club of
America affiliate.
A call to Déjà vu Consulting was not immediately returned.
The
Boys and Girls Club will occupy 4,000 square feet of the 17,000 square
foot building. While the idea of a charity meant to keep troubled youth
out of harm’s way occupying a location with such a negative connotation
might be strange to some, the Boys and Girls Club sees it differently.
“It’s
an opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade,” said Jan Still-Lindeman,
senior director of public relations at Boys and Girls Club of America
national office in Atlanta, Ga. “We go wherever kids need help,
regardless of the location.”
The new facility would be the third
in Clermont County, though the first in West Clermont. The organization
already has two facilities in New Richmond. There had been a location
in the West Clermont School in Amelia, but it closed a year and a half
ago because of continued financial woes, according to Jill Cochran,
executive director of Boys and Girls Club of Clermont County.
When
asked why the Boys and Girls Club chose this specific location, Cochran
again emphasized the importance of turning a building with such a
negative reputation into something positive for the community. She also
mentioned the location has been on the organization’s radar for some
time.
“The building is in a great location,” Cochran explained.
“It’s close to apartments so the children will be able to walk to it
easily.”
All Boys and Girls Clubs locations are different when
it comes to programming, and Cochran said this facility plans to focus
on education, good character, leadership, and healthy lifestyles.
The
city is expected to vote on the purchase on Nov. 21. Should it be
approved, Cochran said she is not sure when it would be open, but she
mentioned they have already concluded a $235,000 fundraising campaign
for renovations, start-up costs, and the first year of operation.
Cochran
says the organization’s steering committee has already met with many
members of the local community, who she says have been extremely
supportive.
“I can’t say enough about Union Township and their
cooperation on this,” she said. “The community support is going to make
this successful.”