Campaign to Get Gym in Shape : Ventura: Boys & Girls Club raises $100,000 for renovations. Officials hope to collect $650,000 more for other upgrading projects.

Ventura Boys & Girls Club officials said they have raised $100,000 so far to renovate the group’s aging clubhouse in the Ventura Avenue area, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city.

The fund-raising campaign, which was launched last June, is expected to reach its goal of $750,000 by the end of 1996, said local banker Bill Crew, the Ventura chapter’s fund-raising chairman.

“It is long overdue that we upgrade this facility,” Crew said. “You would not believe the wear and tear it has.”

Club officials say they have a long list of needed renovations, including upgrading the gymnasium floor and bleachers, adding a new wing for a teen center and administrative offices, and fixing the building’s bathrooms and kitchen.

The 26-year-old building at 1440 N. Olive St. will undergo a major face lift beginning in March.

The club plans to use the money raised so far to first update the facility’s dilapidated gym, which needs a fresh coat of paint, a wood floor, new basketball backboards and a scoreboard. The broken-down bleachers will also be repaired, and a new heating system will be installed.

Later, club officials hope to install a new roof, the new wing, an outdoor basketball court, patio, picnic area and bike racks.

Allen Stewart, a 12-year-old who has been playing basketball at the gym for five years, said the repairs are urgently needed.

The gym gets cold because there is no heating, and thirsty athletes don’t have a water fountain, Stewart said. The floor is made of linoleum, which has missing tiles, and lines that define the court are faded.

“You can’t dribble on the floor because of the cracks, and it’s dirty,” Stewart said.

The gym is scheduled to be closed in March for the repairs, club officials said.

“It’s not real nice for sports,” said Diane Koranda, director of development for the Boys & Girls Club. “We’re hoping by doing this with the gym to attract more teen-agers.”

More than 3,500 boys and girls use the Olive Street clubhouse each year, said Barbara Stricker, regional service director. She said the west Ventura club is one of the oldest and busiest Boys & Girls clubs in Ventura County.

The nonprofit organization is dedicated to serving the youth of the community with an emphasis on disadvantaged boys and girls. Young people from age 5 to 19 are eligible to join the club, and the $12 annual membership fee may be waived if a child cannot afford it.

Club officials said they are pleased with the results of the fund-raising efforts so far, but Crew said the recession has slowed the pace of donations.

“It’s difficult times for some people,” said Crew, who is chairman of First National Bank of Ventura.

Of the $100,000 raised so far, $40,000 has come from charitable foundations. The rest has come from individuals and businesses in the community, Crew said.

The Ventura chapter’s board of directors, who number about 50, were told to raise about $1,000 each through personal contacts, Crew said. Fund-raising events will be held later this year, and former Laker basketball star Jamaal Wilkes has agreed to serve as honorary chairman for the fund-raising campaign. Wilkes, a former Ventura resident, used to play at the Olive Street club.

Crew noted that because board members already work year-round to raise funds for the club’s $750,000 operating budget, it has been difficult to ask people for more donations for the renovation project.

“Some people have said, ‘I already gave this year,’ ” Crew said. “I just show them the facts of what we do, and the benefits the Boys & Girls Club gives to the community, and then suggest a proper contribution.”