LA HABRA : Boys and Girls Club Changes Location

The Brea Boys and Girls Club Monday dedicated a new clubhouse, a temporary building on a city-owned lot, which will be the club’s home while a permanent and larger clubhouse is being planned and built.

Founded in 1985, the club has been housed at Laurel Elementary School. Because of building rehabilitation at the school, the club has been forced to move. The new location is 502 S. Sievers Ave., next to the Brea Senior Citizens Center.

The Soroptimist Club of Brea will pay the lease on the temporary building, owned by Founders National Bank, for four years. The bank has agreed to sell the building to the Boys and Girls Club for $1 at the end of that time, said executive director Dick Guthrie.

A total of 3,000 boys and girls belong to the La Habra-Brea Boys and Girls Clubs, which has clubhouses at four sites. The overall budget for the clubs is $400,000. Most of the funding comes from local sources, with 21% from the United Way, Guthrie said.

Activities at the new site will include games, arts and crafts, sports, and a variety of group activities. An after-school, day-care program operates from 2:15 to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Discussions are under way with the Brea School District on the possibility of constructing a permanent facility for the Brea Boys and Girls Club at Brea Junior High. This could involve building a gymnasium and other facilities, which would be shared by the district and the club, Guthrie said.