1 / 6

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County held a groundbreaking for its new facility in Provo on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.

Courtesy Emily Munoz

2 / 6

Hard hats and devices for remote-controlled excavators are shown before a groundbreaking for the new Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County facility in Provo on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

3 / 6

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County held a groundbreaking for its new facility in Provo on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.

Courtesy Emily Munoz

4 / 6

Liz Beity, a former Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County member, speaks about the impacts the club had on her as a youth during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

5 / 6

Lexie Monroy, a former Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County member, speaks about the impacts the club had on her as a youth during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

6 / 6

Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County Executive Director Dave Bayles sits in an excavator during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.

Courtesy Emily Munoz

❮ ❯

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County has provided resources to families for six decades.

In efforts to continue its long-standing legacy of impact in the community, leaders felt it was time to build a new home for the organization.

On Wednesday, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County broke ground on its new facility in east Provo after the former clubhouse was torn down at the end of August after 60 years.

However, the local chapter is still operating out of Dixon Middle School as work gets underway on the new building.

The new clubhouse is located at the same site as the previous building, 1060 E. 150 North, and is set to span more than 20,000 square feet.

The upgrade aims to make it more seismically safe and better laid out for members.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County has served as a catalyst for families, helping them to thrive and inspiring kids to strive toward their full potential.

The larger space will allow the clubhouse to provide more resources within its nutrition services, housing and after-school programs, as well as opportunities for STEM learning. There also are plans to add a preschool and a teen center.

Club leaders, local elected officials, stakeholders and dignitaries emphasized the importance of the Boys & Girls Club as a safe haven for children and families, highlighting its role in the community.

“I think about the ultimate purpose of this program: It’s to produce and to inspire, to encourage, to strengthen, to give the tools to individuals — our youth — who will one day be good people,” said Matt Siufanua, board president for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County.

Utah County Commissioner Brandon Gordon said the service of the Boys & Girls Club is crucial and leads kids to better things.

“I’m just lucky to be here today watching this take place, and I just applaud your efforts and I’m very excited about this new building,” Gordon said.

A supportive clubhouse staff

Former members who now work as staff shared stories highlighting how the Provo clubhouse provided a sense of home and community during challenging times.

Lexie Monroy got emotional recalling a time from her birthday as a young child when a staff member made her a cake from scratch and organized a themed party, something she had never experienced.

“And it made me feel so special, because I never really had that. I never had a person that truly wanted to be there for me,” Monroy said.

Liz Beity, another former member, said the facility was a lifeline during her seventh grade school year when she and her family were homeless.

“So me and my five other siblings with my mom were all living out of a van. It was a lot, and we didn’t have anywhere consistent to stay,” Beity said.

The one constant she had was the clubhouse and being able to use the provided resources.

Nearly in tears while talking to the crowd of attendees, Beity said being able to have a place to get a warm meal, use facilities with running water and other essential needs allowed her to escape the realities she was faced with daily.

“I could come every day and get a snack; that’s one thing I could eat that day, or take it home and eat it in the van right before I go to bed,” Beity said. “Having those staff to kind of just let me be a kid, let me forget about the problems that I had going on at home.”

She also credits the site’s supportive environment for playing a role in her graduation from high school.

“My priority was to survive,” Beity said. “So I never saw myself as a high school graduate or even going off to learn further on in college. I saw myself just dropping out of high school and working fast food for the rest of my life.”

The encouraging staff helped transform her from failing many of her classes into a straight-A student.

“I had that push on days where I felt like I couldn’t do my homework or I just couldn’t understand it. I had a staff member sit next to me (and) say, ‘Hey, let’s go through this problem by problem,'” Beity explained.

She now works as a program manager for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County.

Serving the community

The new facility will cost about $6.5 million, for which the Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County has secured funding through various donations and a grant from Utah County.

Executive Director David Bayles said more donors are being sought as additional funds are still needed.

“We’ve gotten closer and closer to our goal thanks to the generosity of lots of people but still have a little bit to go,” said Bayles, who told the Daily Herald in August the club hopes to raise another $1 million that will go toward an endowment fund to be able to maintain the building so it’ll last another 60 years.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County looks to continue changing the trajectory of more lives in the years to come, and Bayles said he’s excited for the new facility to allow them to do so.

Construction is set to begin after permit finalization with the city, with completion expected in the summer of 2026.