Image courtesy of Gensler
A $60,000 grant from the Real Estate Council earlier this year set the Boys & Girls Club of East Dallas on the way to total renovation. The building, on Worth at Prairie in Old East Dallas, started out as a Minyard grocery store, and the after-school program took it over in 1976.
Since then, the club has served thousands of neighborhood kids. About five years ago, the club got a new gym floor and a mural. But much more work was needed. The first phase of renovation, currently underway, includes new air conditioning units donated by Lennox, leveling the floors, new lighting, new bathrooms and a reception area. Gensler Dallas architects is donating the design. In all, 25 organizations have donated to make the first phase a reality.
“We’re designing it to budget,” says Tosha Di Iorio, vice president of marketing for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas. “If we get a $10,000 donation for a reception center, then it will be a $10,000 reception center.”
The nonprofit also has plans to renovate its kitchen and create a cafe and community garden where kids can eat their snacks and learn about nutrition. Di Iorio says she hopes updates to the building’s facade will make the club more of a focus point in the neighborhood.
So far, the nonprofit has raised more than $100,000 in cash, goods and services for the renovation, which is expected to cost about $200,000.
The club’s annual fundraiser is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13 at Times Ten Cellars. Tickets cost $55 each or $90 per couple.
