PINE HILLS, Fla. – The Walt Disney World Boys and Girls Club is located in the heart of Pine Hills.
Every day, some 200 kids between the ages of 6 to 18 go to the club for free and safe after-school activities. It is right next door to Mollie Ray Elementary and within two miles of Pine Hills Elementary, Ridgewood Park Elementary, Robinswood Middle and Evans High Schools.
Jamie Merrill, the CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida, gave News 6 a tour of the club.
She says, from shooting hoops in the gym to playing in one of the game rooms, there’s something for everyone at the Boys and Girls Club.
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“So in this club, specifically, we have two different art rooms, one on the youth side as well as one on the teen side, " said Merrill. “There’s a statistic and a metric that says that 74% of individuals from low-income areas are more likely to plan for college and their future if art is infused into their day.”
The club brings in trained artists to teach members how to sketch, draw, paint, and even wood-burning and clothing design.
“The kids absolutely love it. It really helps them from what they’re doing and where they come from on a school day, it helps them to reinvigorate that creative side,” said Merrill.
From art to dance, some 20 trained instructors plus volunteers help out at the club daily, including reading and math tutors and mental health counselors.
“We have an actual legitimate dance program and dance studio,” said Merrill. “So from ballet to hip hop to jazz, they’re able to express themselves.
Two years ago, Disney gave the organization half a million dollars to build an award-winning robotics lab at the club.
Merrill says building robots helps their members discover new skills and potential future careers.
“The best part about it is seeing the spark of when they realize ‘I love this and I’m good at it and it wasn’t something that I even thought of before.’ That is opening the opportunity and bridging the gap, closing that gap of the kids that we serve and showing them the world that’s actually accessible to them,” said Merrill.
Merrill says the club in Pine Hills first opened in 1960 serving about 35-40 kids. In 2008, the organization added a significant addition including a new gymnasium Today, the building is 25,000 square feet and also features a computer lab, a career center, a garden and a full commercial kitchen.
“You know what’s really great is it brings together every age group, and it brings together the kids. So everybody is equal in the clubs, everybody has an opportunity to have everything accessible to them, and they just love to have a little fun,” said Merrill.
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