HUNTINGTON BEACH : Merged Clubs to Serve All Youths

To better serve the community and use funds more effectively, the Girls and Boys Club/Kid Connection and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley are combining to form a single youth organization.

The two nonprofit groups will officially merge today and will be known as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley, serving children from infancy through the teen years.

“It’s the right thing to do, and I think we can better serve the community with less dollars administratively,” said Tanya Grimes, who for 16 years headed the Girls and Boys Club/Kid Connection and is now executive director of the new group.

“Organizations everywhere are looking into mergers as cost-effective ways of doing business, and in this particular case, we duplicate a number of services and complement services.”

Grimes said the union of the organizations also will end community confusion over which group is which.

In 1974, a local girls club was formed that five years later changed its name to the Girls and Boys Club. In 1992, the organization added “Kid Connection” to its name.

In 1967, a local boys club was created and in 1982 changed its name to reflect that membership was also open to girls. In 1983, the Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach clubs merged into a single organization serving mainly teen-agers.

“There’s been so much confusion. It’s like a daily battle to explain who we are and who we aren’t,” Grimes said. “It will be so much nicer to be one strong youth-serving organization in the community.”

Richard Cook, board president for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley, said that the merged organization will have nearly 2,000 members. The boards of the organizations will also be combined, he said.

“We’re looking forward to it from the standpoint that we can do a lot better job of servicing the kids in terms of program offerings,” Cook said.

Both before-school and after-school activities will be available, he said, for children of all ages.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley will continue to operate at 2309 Delaware St. in Huntington Beach.

Kid Connection, at 9191 Pioneer Drive in Huntington Beach, will remain open as a club branch focusing on infants and younger school-age children.

Club membership will remain at $15 a year, with an additional charge of $30 a week for bus transportation to the club sites after school.

Information: (714) 374-2600 or (714) 964-4526.