Breaking Barriers for Future Generations

“We are about breaking cycles,” says Frank Adams, Jr., CEO of the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club. “We serve children who may have wonderful parents, but who face a number of barriers. They deal with food insecurity, safety issues in their neighborhoods, a lack of technology that most people take for granted, and other challenges that come with poverty.

“Within the four walls of this building, we try to mitigate those challenges,” Adams continues. “We provide bright paths and opportunities for our children, no matter where they come from. We are a place of hope.”

That place of hope became even more hopeful on February 19, 2020, when the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club opened the doors to a new, $15.5 million clubhouse.

The sparkling new facility offers space to provide tutoring, mentoring services, and after-school activities for 450 children at one time – nearly twice the capacity of the old clubhouse. Added amenities include a dedicated Teen Center, a commercial kitchen for preparing hot meals, a performing arts venue, and spacious, well-equipped areas for academic, STEM, and indoor and outdoor recreational activities. The new facility will also serve as a community gathering space, a “village center” for neighborhood meetings and programming.

HOPE provided $9 million in New Markets Tax Credit as part of the financing for the construction of the new facility.

“HOPE has been an example of servant leadership in our community. They’ve not only provided financial support, they’ve also provided enthusiasm and emotional support for our work,” Adams says.

“HOPE ‘got’ our vision and understood that we wanted to be a source of catalytic change in this community. They saw this project not just as a business opportunity, but as a way to focus on the needs of our community. This clubhouse is transformative for our community and for individual children and it is the direct result of the support of HOPE,” says Frank Adams, CEO of the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club.