Celebrating 22 Years of Inspiring & Empowering Youth
The Boys & Girls Club of Portage County has changed a lot over the last 20 years, but our mission remains the same - to inspire and empower youth to realize their full potential. Join us as we look back and celebrate the people and places that helped us build what we have today. We hope you enjoy this trip through our archives!
The Early Days - A Vision for Children
Founders of The Noel Group and Travel Guard, John & Patty Noel, shared a vision to start a Boys & Girls Club in Portage County to provide children from all walks of life a positive place to go after school and during the summer months to have fun and be involved in programming. They invited other like-minded people through a public community forum at Ben Franklin Junior High School, then a concerned and diverse group of community leaders formed a Board of Directors, toured other Boys & Girls Clubs around the state, and hired Kevin Quevillon as the Club's Executive Director. In these first five years, broad support from the community fueled the Club to grow and serve children at an astonishing rate. Clubs were opened in September of 2002 simultaneously on Ellis Street, downtown Stevens Point, and at JF Kennedy Elementary. Soon after, an additional Club was established at Madison View Apartments in Stevens Point during the summer months, then in Plover, and then at Jefferson Elementary School.
Growth & Expansion Continued
During these years, the Boys & Girls Club continued to expand at a rapid pace to provide Club programming throughout Portage County. Clubs were now available in Stevens Point, Junction City, Plover, and Almond-Bancroft. Growth in specialized programming to address specific needs of the community and youth included a Teen Center, Free Summer Lunch program, Gateway Report Center and Portage County Truancy Abatement Program. The Club was intentional in operating high impact programs in locations that were accessible to children and teens that needed services the most.
Building for the Future
Thanks to the generosity of many the Club conducted its first Capital Campaign, called “Building Great Futures.” Through a successful $4.2 million campaign, the Boys & Girls Club of Portage County constructed its first, official home base in Stevens Point – the Berard Center and home to the Delta Dental Smile Club in 2015. The successful capital campaign also funded a $1 million renovation to the Plover Center in 2018. A full-service Food Service program provides free healthy meals and snacks to youth year-round. A new Boys & Girls Club was established in Rosholt. New and innovative programs continue to be added to serve children and teens – Be Great Graduate program at PJ Jacobs, Ben Franklin, and SPASH, Great Futures Social-Emotional Learning program, a Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Center, and most recently, a Workforce Development Program called YouthForce.
Thanks to broad community support the Boys & Girls Club remains mission-focused
“To inspire and empower our youth to realize their full potential.”
