Boys and Girls Club's new June Family Branch nears completion

Randy June grew up going to the Boys and Girls Club in Pine Hills, playing sports, making friends and having fun.

He went to the club on evenings and weekends and learned the impact a Boys and Girls Club can have on a kid and a community. 

“It’s probably the most important thing to have,” June said of a Boys and Girls Club. “(They) show some guidance and a path toward success in life and schooling is going to make for a great community.”

Growing up and now as an adult, June and his family have continued to be supporters of the West Orange Boys and Girls Club. 

He stood with pride Wednesday, April 1, inside the new, almost-finished Boys and Girls Club in East Winter Garden as club partners, members and community members arrived to see the progress being made in construction of the club. 

When the club opens to its members in August and celebrates its grand opening in September, it will open as the June Family Branch.

June said he was honored to have the facility named after his family, and he believes the center will be “community changing.”

“Winter Garden is a great place, and this is just going to add to that greatness to have kids be able to grow up, enjoy a facility and be shown some direction in life,” he said. “It’s going to be fantastic.”

Jamie Merrill, the president and CEO for Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida, was “beyond excited and elated” not only to see the club’s partners touring the facility, located at 459 Ninth St. in Winter Garden, but also a few of the kids walk into the facility for the first time to experience the creation of their club.

The new branch has been 10 years in the making. When Merrill became president and CEO three years ago, she pushed for the branch to become a reality after spending more time with the West Orange Boys and Girls Club members and in Winter Garden.

“That’s one of the reasons I reinvigorated the campaign myself and worked with Randy (June) and his family to really start bringing this dream to life, because it is such a needed area with a perfect location to be really be able to serve kids we’ve never been able to serve,” she said. “We knew we needed to serve more kids in this community, but we could never kind of figure out how to do it. In the last two-and-a-half years, we’ve really been able to put that vision to life. It’s a dream come true.”

The branch was designed two years ago and construction began a year ago. It will include art labs/maker spaces so members can express their creativity as well as technology labs to do homework and explore STEM opportunities. On the teen side, there will be a dance studio and music studio. 

Once open to members in August, the June Family Branch will serve more than 300 children daily and more than 500 children annually. The West Orange branch currently serves 40 children.

After the June Family Branch opens, the club will be constructing its 10,000-square-foot gymnasium. Merrill said the club is $2 million shy of the money needed to build the gym, which is the aspect of the facility children are looking forward to most. 

In the gym, the club will be able to host larger events, children can run around and play, speakers can present to the members and more. 

Merrill said 85% of families the club serves earn less than $40,000 annually as a household, which is not enough to make ends meet. She also said 17% of families are food insecure. 

In the June Family Branch, there will be kitchens to provide hot meals and snacks for the children before they go home as well as on weekends and when the facility is closed. 

Merrill enjoyed walking around the new branch, taking in the youth portion of the building, which will serve children ages 6 to 12, and the teen portion, which will serve children ages 13 to 18. 

More than 100 teens attend West Orange Boys and Girls Club’s Save Our Students events, which are teens-only events that include a variety of activities. 

The June Family Branch will have its own teen section, which is not the case at the West Orange branch. 

“Teens when not given the right opportunities will often find the wrong opportunities, and it is critically important that we help our teens to envision what they never thought possible,” Merrill said.