Boys and Girls Clubs making impact in Independence

It’s the best kept secret in the area.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Kansas City teaches kids the right way of things. While that is not an exact science, the organization brings kids off the street and into the classroom, even when schools don’t.
Michelle Ruffin, senior director of the Leslie Unit, gives a little insight into just what Boys and Girls Club is.
“Boys and Girls Clubs provide a safe place for kids to grow and learn. This is their club. We tell them that,” she said.
Ruffin said Boys and Girls Clubs instill a sense of influence, belonging, competence, and usefulness to kids who need it.
“It’s often the kids that get in the most trouble that benefit the most from our program,” Ruffin said.
Independence is home to two of the five units in the Kansas City area, the Leslie Unit, off Leslie Street and Walnut Avenue, and the Hawthorne Unit, off East Dover Lane. The Leslie Unit served about 90 kids on Monday, and sometimes it is much, much more.
“We serve as a positive role model for these kids. Sometimes, we’re the only positive influence for these kids. We try to build them up a lot and reward them a lot,” Ruffin said.
Some of the kids who go through the club have issues at home. Many have a single-parent household. The progress the kids make takes time.
“You don’t see the difference initially,” Ruffin said. “Until they’re an adult, until they have to make adult decisions, that’s when it really shows.”
The club recently struck a deal with the Independence School District to bring in some of the teachers to continue their school work in the summer. Currently, the focus is science.
“We have teachers come in and teach them about plants and agriculture. We have a tech lab for the teens, we have tutors to help with homework when they need it,” Ruffin said. “It’s a great place for kids to learn.”
And much cheaper, too. For the summer, the kids are enrolled for $22.50 per week. For the school year, it’s $15 for the club, which stays open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., has staff at the office almost all day, and feeds kids three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and heavy snack.) Compare that some before-and-afters school programs, or day-care programs, and it’s a great deal. But for such a cheap cost, the club has to sacrifice a few things.
“That cost doesn’t cover everything these kids do,” Ruffin said.
The kids, along with their lessons, go on field trips, some educational, some recreational.

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But the home base for the Boys and Girls Club is the one that needs the most attention.
“This place is kind of falling apart,” Ruffin said with a nervous laugh.
The budget is geared mostly toward the kids. There isn’t a lot left over for the building or other needs the club may have.
That’s where Fred Mills and Rich Baldwin come in.
Mills is the former Independence police chief. Baldwin is a former pastor. But both agree that the Boys and Girls Club is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
“You can’t put in words what we do here. It isn’t simple. But we teach these kids the right way for the right reasons,” Baldwin said. “You have to let these kids make those decisions. You can tell them the right way, but ultimately they have to decide for themselves what is right.”
Baldwin, the Teen Program and Outreach Specialist, is trying to raise awareness about the club and its impact on the kids.
“We moved off of Main Street where everybody could see us, to the neighborhoods, where the most help was needed,” he said. “We’re always looking for people. The door is always open.”
One way the club is getting known is by offering a Coffee With Community Leaders event, inviting local business and community individuals to talk and help the Boys and Girls Clubs.
Baldwin also said the club is always open to people who just want to make a difference with kids.
“If you have a little bit of time, you can come out and read to the kids. Even the little things help,” he said.
Mills is the Advisory Board chairman for the club. Mills got involved when he saw what the club did.
“You can tell a lot about a community from the way it cares about its kids,” he said. “The youth are the future of the community.”
Baldwin works with the teens in the program, who base their activities at the Salvation Army building due to space limitations.
“The teens are the ones who are most at risk in the summer,” he said. “If you can get them into a positive role, the ripple effect is immeasurable. It’s a lot easier to raise a child right than it is to fix an adult.”
The club’s building has been in need of renovations for a while. Plans were in place, but the club needs money.
Wal-Mart recently named the Boys and Girls Clubs as their charity of choice for community service grants.
“We were originally going to receive $1,000 from them, but they had some extra business so they bumped it up to $1,500,” Ruffin said.
It’s in-kind payments like that that keep Boys and Girls Clubs alive.
“We’re not fancy. We have the basics,” Baldwin said.
Mills echoed the thought.
“We may not have much. But we do the most with what we have.”