Last year in late February, right before COVID hit, Shannon Goodrick and her staff at the Fallon Youth Club were touring the construction site of what was to become the new home of the Youth Club on Venturacci Lane. Two weeks later, FYC was shut down, along with all construction on the new building.
Goodrick told Churchill County Commissioners last week during her annual presentation, that it was not until May that staff started serving students - remotely and under strict precautions.
“We had to figure out how to serve our kids,” Goodrick explained. “Staff rallied the students with newsletters that we sent out, and we worked in shifts to get projects put together and would leave them on the porch of the Club for students to pick up. “We did everything we could to stay engaged with our kids.”
Goodrick and her staff then began working with the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) to follow best practices and establish policies that would allow the FYC to reopen on June 22nd. They were able to run two cohorts, in groups of 35 each, utilizing outside spaces and staggered drop-off times to serve about half of their regular population. When school opened in August, the Club staff worked with the school district on different scenarios that would make the split school day work for the Youth Club kids.
“The logistics have been challenging, and we’re only serving half the kids as normal,” said Goodrick, “In December, we had 57 kids, we can serve 70 at a time, and we have 83 students actually enrolled.” She said the staff is meticulous about cleaning - only one student and one staff member test positive for COVID.
Goodrick received the keys to the new building on what she calls a glorious day in December, and they have slowly been moving things over room-by-room. “The City is helping us move - they have been so wonderful,” she said. “We were trying not to have to close during the move but, that’s just not doable, but with the City’s help we will only have to shut down from February 16th through the 19th, and then on February 22nd we will open at the new building.”
While the Youth Club exists on fundraising, the loss of their annual dinner and events has severely impacted their ability to raise money. They rely on Churchill County for a $10,000 contribution each year, but much more funding is needed to operate.
One of the issues of moving to Venturacci Lane is transportation for the students who attend E.C. Best. The old FYC building is within walking distance. Goodrick says she is working with Dave Ernst at Churchill County Parks and Recreation to find a solution that may work and with the school district through the 21st Century grant.
The Youth Club staff operates the facility on a 30% rule – no one funding source can provide more than 30% of the budget. While 51% of the budget comes from various grants, Goodrick says those grant sources are allocated under the 30% rule. She also reported that 8% of the operating costs come from membership dues paid by the families that use the facility. The new club can serve 235 students once COVID restrictions are lifted.
County Commissioner Chairman, Pete Olsen, directed county staff to work with the Club on the transportation issue and the number of kids that need to be served. “We don’t want that number limited by the ability to transport,” he said. As with other community requests for funding, commissioners will review the budget commitments and notify the Fallon Youth Club by letter of their funding support.
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