New Club Gives Kids an Outlet for Creativity

With a tiny brush, 7-year-old Nadia Hurtado meticulously stroked green acrylic paint on a small rock.

“I’m not sure what I’m doing, but I want to make something with lots of color,” said the Piru resident as she examined the rock. “Maybe it will be a rainbow.”

Nadia is one of about 25 children who spend every afternoon at the new Boys & Girls Club in tiny Piru.

“This is a great gift for the community,” said Josie Alcocer, an activities coordinator for the club. “It’s not only that the kids need something to do in the afternoons but they love it.”

The club, which opened Dec. 15, is financed by a $17,000 federal grant awarded by the county’s Family Preservation Funds program, said Diane Koranda, who oversees the facility.

Because of the size of the community, the club operates as a branch of the Fillmore-Piru Boys & Girls Club, Koranda said.

The $17,000 grant will keep the club open five days a week, from 3 to 6 p.m. until September. The money is spent for the salary of three staff members, and materials for arts and crafts, bingo and other activities, Koranda said. After September, the club will rely on other grants and fund-raisers to pay its costs.

“We’re really grateful to the county because most of the kids around here would spend their afternoons watching television or wandering on the streets,” said Al Gaitan, head of the Piru Neighborhood Council.

Indeed, a group of 12 youngsters painting rocks on Friday afternoon said that until the club opened, they watched television in the afternoons.

“There isn’t much to do after school,” said Richie Arias, 11. “So it’s really cool having the club--I just learned how to play pingpong,”

In addition to arts and crafts and a pingpong table, the club offers sports activities and help with homework.

Among the various activities, the kids’ favorite is playing bingo, they said. “It’s fun because we can always win something,” said Norma Lopez, 7.