Boys & Girls Club Festival Brings Harmony, Plea for Support

The beat was heavy and the mood light Saturday at the Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley as rappers and country musicians mingled at Music Expo ‘91, a multicultural festival designed to unite the diverse ethnic communities in Pacoima and San Fernando.

Although the pounding beats and bittersweet country strains played by several bands seemed to entertain the approximately 800 people attending the festival, the event was not without its more somber notes.

Le Roy Chase Jr., executive director of the club, said the center may end up with a $200,000 deficit this year because of reduced grants from the United Way and what he said was a lack of support from the business community.

“The business people around here need to realize that, just because this place looks like Fort Knox, it’s not necessarily so,” he said. “For some reason, they haven’t been all that supportive. We call them up and they say, ‘All our money is allocated to other organizations.’ But we try to tell them that we’re different because of what we have to overcome in terms of helping these kids.”

The club is trying to raise funds to round out its $700,000 annual budget, he said.

The 26,000-square-foot center, which opened in 1987, has a membership of 1,200 youngsters age 7 and over. Some come from nearby low-income housing developments such as San Fernando Gardens and the Pierce Park Apartments in Van Nuys. Others come from run-down houses in neighborhoods dominated by gang activity.

On typical days, the center is brimming with activity. Teens and kids play in the game room equipped with several pool tables and pinball machines. They make arts and crafts or study in the computer room.

Boys bounce basketballs in the regulation-sized gym illuminated by several skylights, or they ride minibikes in the center’s back lot, provided they can maintain a C grade average in school.

The center is a modern, expanded version of the club’s first home on Van Nuys Boulevard, where it was situated in a cluster of three aging, small buildings amid bars in a deteriorating neighborhood. The operating budget at that location was about $250,000, Chase said.

“Our water and power bill now is more than what it took to run that whole club,” Chase said. The United Way provides about 17% of the budget and government agencies give another 8%, “so we have to raise 70% of our budget,” he said.

Caleb Craig, 18, who has been coming to the center for more than six years, said joining the facility helped steer him away from gangs.

“This place is good because it keeps kids off the streets,” said Craig, a senior at Granada Hills High School. “I could have gotten into trouble, but they’ve got enough activities to keep me busy.”

As the daylong festival continued, crowd members munched on hot links, barbecue and chicken-curry rolls as they wandered past booths manned by local chapters of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Guard and the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division.

Several community leaders praised the club, calling it a valuable resource in a community better known for its crime than its accomplishments.

“It’s like a life-support system for the community,” said Marie Harris, executive director of the Pacoima Chamber of Commerce. “It really is an alternative to the streets.”

“This is the kind of thing we need,” she added. “I would really hate to see cuts affect the club. If they have to get rid of programs, then what are we going to do? We have to be able to provide these meaningful activities for our kids.”

Anna Alvarez, office manager of the Pierce Park Apartments across the street from the facility, said parents who reside at the complex depend on the center.

“They feel more peace of mind knowing their kids are there,” Alvarez said.

As for the club’s financial future, Chase is cautiously optimistic. Councilman Ernani Bernardi, who represents the area, is also investigating a plan to increase city funding for the club, a spokesman for the councilman said.

But if the $200,000 deficit remains, Chase said, “we will have to take a serious, serious look at our program. We don’t want to cut anything or anybody. It’s another roadblock we’ll have to get around, but I’m sure we will.”