RGC's new Boys & Girls Club to be touted at ceremony Wednesday

This story was originally posted at 7:12 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. It was updated Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012.

RIO GRANDE CITY – Officials will formally unveil the new Boys & Girls Club here during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, a few weeks after the organization started providing programs for 6- to 12-year-olds.

The Rio Grande City Boys & Girls Club held events for children in December and started providing after-school programming this month, said Dina Garcia-Peña, director of the Rio Grande City unit of the Boys & Girls Club, which operates under the McAllen Boys & Girls Club.

So far, 32 children have registered for the club, which provides after-school and summer programs that promote healthy lifestyles, academic success, and character and leadership development, Garcia-Peña said.

The students don’t have a permanent facility yet, so they meet at Heritage Park on Farm-to-Market Road 3167 near Rio Grande City High School and Veterans Middle School, Garcia-Peña said. She said she hopes that soon the program will move into one of the schools.

Officials for Rio Grande City, which in conjunction with the city’s Economic Development Council provided $93,000 for the program, have been looking into a more permanent location for the club, including the school and the under-construction Basilio Villarreal Municipal Park, among other options, Mayor Ruben Villarreal said.

“Thus far, they are doing an amazing job,” he said. “They're working with whatever resources are available to us.”

Cynthia Ybarra, the public relations officer for the Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District, said the district is supportive of the new Boys & Girls Club.

"This is a new endeavor that the city has started and the school district is always there to help in any possible way, especially if it's going to benefit our students,” she said.

Garcia-Peña said she hopes to register about 200 children, with the hope that 100 to 120 show up for daily activities. Registration costs $10 a year and is open to 6-to 12-year-olds.

"It's a very unique opportunity … (and) many parents don't know that it's there yet,” she said.

One of the goals of the ribbon-cutting event is to show residents and business and city leaders "what the Boys & Girls Club can provide for the community" through videos and speeches, Garcia-Peña said. The ribbon-cutting will be at the La Borde House in Rio Grande City.

"It's a symbolic ribbon-cutting to show everyone what we're actually bringing in,” she said.

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Gail Burkhardt covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at gburkhardt@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4462.

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IF YOU GO
WHAT: Ribbon-cutting for Rio Grande City Boys & Girls Club               
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday               
WHERE: La Borde House, 601 E. Main St., Rio Grande City
COST: Free
CONTACT: To learn how to enroll in the Boys & Girls Club in Rio Grande City, call Dina Garcia-Peña at (956) 451-2681