Boys’ Club Is Closed in San Ysidro; Lack of Funding Blamed

Plagued by financial woes, the San Ysidro Boys’ Club closed its doors Thursday for the first time since the operation opened 13 years ago, one night after shutting down its bingo games. The club, a large facility that at its peak offered programs to more than 1,000 boys, had struggled to prevent a closure that appeared inevitable when United Way funds dried up Sept. 30. Last-ditch efforts to keep the doors open with borrowed staff failed to alleviate the looming debt of more than $71,000--a debt that caused the club’s demise by discouraging United Way funding and assistance from area clubs.

The Boys’ Club of Chula Vista had agreed to assist San Ysidro in keeping the facility open and to help it get back on its feet with administrative advice and part-time staff. But after a week of evaluation, the Chula Vista club announced that it would pull out, the San Ysidro club’s board president, Al Vitela, said. The board decided to close the club when it got the news Wednesday.

Richard Dellamaestra, who had been executive director of the San Ysidro club since the 14,000-square-foot facility just north of La Mirada Elementary School opened in 1972, claimed Thursday that the Chula Vista club was pressured into backing out of the agreement by United Way.

According to the Chula Vista club director, Dennis Young, the decision to withdraw assistance was based on several factors.

“It is not an easy scenario,” Young said. “ . . . We had pressure from all places. Despite all the political stuff you hear, we have to take care of our own house first. What their board needed was a die-hard commitment. There are a few too many things happening to us right now for that.”

The Chula Vista club plans to merge with the Girls’ Club of Chula Vista, and the two clubs have joined to raise funds for the construction of new facilities, Young said.

“We are in the process of working out a delicate merger, and the timing is not right for us to go head over heels with that kind of (San Ysidro) problem,” Young said. “United Way voiced their opinion to some people on our board. They questioned our ability to handle everything.”

He said the Girls’ Club board was also reluctant to become involved with the San Ysidro club.

Terry Hayes, vice president of United Way of San Diego County, said the fund-raising organization does not have an official opinion and the situation is under study.

“It was my understanding that the Girls’ Club did not want the financial drain,” she said. She said United Way supports mergers that are economically sound.

Hayes said that United Way had done its part by giving a grant and emergency loan to the San Ysidro club last year but that the San Ysidro board did not undertake additional fund-raising efforts when the club lost government assistance.

On July 1, United Way gave the club 90 days to “come up with a plan to resolve their own situation--through mergers or other alternatives,” Hayes said.

“They did not take aggressive enough action soon enough to find alternative revenue plans,” Hayes said.

The club has been on a downward spiral for about five years, Dellamaestra said, beginning with the peso devaluation. It robbed the club of most local private donations, as businesses in the border area suffered because Mexican customers had less money to spend.

Dellamaestra said the club sought an increase in yearly United Way funding but requests were denied because attendance had dwindled. Less money meant a cut in programs and staff, rendering the club an unattractive candidate for United Way funding.

Hayes said the $57,000 that United Way would have given the club this year is earmarked for South Bay youth but that an agency has not been selected to receive the money. A task force composed of San Diego and San Ysidro volunteers is studying options.

The eight-member board of the San Ysidro club plans to meet next week to “go back to the drawing board,” Vitela said.

Unlike most Boys’ Clubs, the nonprofit corporation owns the club building and property and has an equity of about $800,000, Dellamaestra said. But he added that selling the property would be difficult because it is not zoned for commercial use and that getting a bank loan is unlikely because the group has no guaranteed income.

Young said the building is in “beautiful” condition and “someone will provide services in that area.”

Vitela said the San Ysidro board will look at possible mergers, agreements or private funding.

“We are looking at who can provide the services or if we can find someone to bail us out,” Vitela said. “It’s the community and the children who are suffering.

“We are optimistic. We are going to do everything to try to provide services to kids here and look at all avenues. We are not going to give up.”

Dellamaestra, meanwhile, continues to oppose a merger, despite the club’s closure and the loss of his job. He has been involved in Boys’ Clubs for more than 30 years in San Diego County and began building San Ysidro Boys’ Club programs in 1969.

“We worked very hard to build it,” he said. “Why should we give it to somebody else to improve their organization?”