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In 1956, Boys Clubs of America
celebrated its 50th anniversary and received a U.S.
Congressional Charter.
To recognize the fact that girls
are a part of our cause, the national organization's name was
changed to Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 1990. Accordingly,
Congress amended and renewed our charter.
 The History
of Boys and Girls Clubs of Fauquier
 The
Boys and Girls Clubs of Fauquier was founded in 1994 by
Jerry Wood and Buddy Curtis. When we asked Jerry about the reason for starting
this program, these are his words: "After retiring from the
General Assembly of Virginia a number of Fauquier citizens,
Catherine Ann Carter, Barbara Rodriquez, Jim Brumfield, Ann
Nelson, Bill Barr, and others met with Buddy Curtis and
myself to talk about having a program for young girls and
boys. The people of Fauquier felt that a major problem
in this community was that there was nothing to do on a
daily basis for young people. All kinds of programs
were considered: boxing, wrestling, YMCA, YWCA, Big Brothers
and etc. One evening Buddy and myself visited the Boys
and Girls Club in Dale City, Va. and I'll never forget the
statement Buddy made as we walked in the front door; "This
is exactly what we need for our youth in Fauquier."
Now we had a dream!! |
It took almost three years to get
this project off the ground and in November 1997 the Boys and
Girls Clubs of Fauquier opened our doors at Taylor Middle
School. This was made possible by the Town of Warrenton,
County of Fauquier, the School System and many dedicated
individuals of this community.
From 1997 to 2004 the Club
struggled and barely succeeded only because of dedicated people
like Buddy Curtis, Executive Director Jon Gregory, Robert Wiles,
John Morgan, Sarah Rossi, and Jerry Medlock. Help was
though to find and money was even harder to obtain.
Then along came Stephen Athey,
who donated his time, money and influence to the Club and
suddenly positive changes happened.
In December 2005 having out grown
Taylor Middle School, each year turning away 200 to 300 young
people, the Town of Warrenton donated a piece of land in Stephen
Athey's name to the Club. Unfortunately the land deal
with the Town of Warrenton did not work out and we were offered
by Kim and Mike Forsten to purchase the Old Town Athletic Club.
This building is 15,000 square feet and is located on Keith
Street in Warrenton. This building will serve our purpose
and we were very lucky that this opportunity presented itself.
The death of Steve in early 2005 meant that he never witnessed
the results of his hard work.
In January 2006 at the site of
our future Club we named the Club, the Stephen L. Athey Boys and
Girls Clubs of Fauquier, this was in honor of the fine gentlemen
he was and leader in out community.
Now, all that remains is to raise
$3,000,000 for the building that will be a positive place where
young people (ages 6-18) can come each day with adult guidance
and supervision.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of
America have a line-up of tested and proven nationally
recognized programs that address the most contemporary issues of
the day. Programs teaching young people the skills they
need to succeed in life. Some of these are programs
concerning education (study hall and tutors), health, the
environment, the arts, careers (how to apply for a job, how to
write resume), alcohol and drug prevention (visits from local
law enforcement and visit to the jail), pregnancy and gang
prevention and all kinds of athletics.
Our Clubs are working, (two units
in Fauquier, one in Warrenton and the other in Bealeton), to
help youth of all backgrounds, with special concern for those
from disadvantaged circumstances. Increasing number of
girls and boys are spending many hours alone at home with no
adult supervision. Young people need responsible guidance,
need to know someone cares about them and have capable adults to
whom they can turn.
Will you join
with us in this effort of providing these services to our young
people?
Our children are our most important asset!"
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