Fremont club could use help with repairs, yard
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on April 7, 2006 1:47 PM
FREMONT -- The Fremont Boys & Girls Club is in need of repairs, said club officials, and any individual or civic group that would consider lending the facility a hand is welcome.
The club is the smallest of the three Boys & Girls clubs in Wayne County but has an active membership, director Andreta Wooten said. Currently, the organization rents a building from the American Legion, but it doesn't meet the growing needs of the club's membership, said Sarah Wheeler, development coordinator.
"It's very old," she said. "We're paying really low rent, and we can't change it around too much."
About 30 children take part in the Fremont club's activities. Wheeler said the clubs serve as a home away from home for many boys and girls. She added that the northern Wayne County community benefits from having the club in the area.
Mary Ann Dudley is executive director of the Wayne County clubs. She said the 3,000-square-foot Fremont facility barely meets the needs of the children there. She said she hopes the town and the community will help support improvements at the site.
A storm took out the club's sign. The furniture inside is old and ragged. The concrete floor has been painted sporadically. It needs repainting every two years, and a new paint job is long overdue.
"I don't know what you can do to improve it other than just get more people involved," Ms. Dudley said, adding that she hopes community groups will see the value in the club and help keep it alive.
The town of Fremont helps support the club financially, just as Mount Olive and Goldsboro do for their clubs. But the facilities in Goldsboro and Mount Olive are in far better condition, she said.
The Royall Avenue club in Goldsboro has 24,000 square feet of space and accommodates about 150 young people on a regular basis. The Mount Olive club is the newest facility and includes about 5,000 square feet of space. Its membership hovers around 100.
Despite its size, the Fremont club offers children in the area a place to congregate, learn and play in a safe environment, Ms. Dudley said. Helping keep it in good shape can only help make the town a better place, she added.
"It's looking pretty ratty lately," she said. "We replaced the roof and some facia that was old. The building is sound. It just needs some TLC, little things to spruce it up."