This particular center, during the day, will be used for parents, even possibly grandparents, and people who need additional assistance with some social service that can be provided.
McALLEN — The Boys and Girls Club of McAllen held a press conference Wednesday morning to celebrate a $2 million infusion of funds that will go toward the construction of a new community center in south McAllen.
The club’s goal is to provide children in low income areas a place to participate in extracurricular activities outside of school. They are hoping to expand service to cover a larger area of McAllen.
According to Dalinda Gonzalez-Alcantar, CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of McAllen, the new facility is a step toward ensuring the city has the infrastructure to support the number of children and teens across the city.
“We’re really excited because the Boys and Girls Club of McAllen will be having a really strong presence in south McAllen to make sure that we meet the needs of children all across McAllen,” Gonzalez-Alcantar said.
The new facility will bring similar services to south McAllen, including academic interventions, food security, sports programs as well as mental health programs.
Not only is the facility going to accommodate more children in the area but it will also be a dual generational center that will be open to other members of the community.
“This particular center, during the day, will be used for parents, even possibly grandparents, and people who need additional assistance with some social service that can be provided,” Gonzalez-Alcantar said.
According to U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, the funds for the center come from the Community Project Funds that were allocated to each congressional district in which he received $23.7 million.
He plans to use these funds to invest in projects that will help people across the Rio Grande Valley by establishing aid in various areas such as a nursing program at South Texas College, a children’s diabetes center in the Delta area, and, now, helping the Boys and Girls club.
“I want to make sure the resources get down to the people and this (Boys and Girls club) is definitely a space where that really happens,” Gonzalez said, adding that he intends to provide funds throughout his congressional district.
He said projects are under way in Pharr and Weslaco, and plans are in the works for Brownsville and Harlingen.
