The Price Boys and Girls Club formerly known as Boys & Girls of Carbon County is an organization that provides a safe and fun out of school time activities for children ages five to 18 years old. The daily structure for children is different for elementary and high school-aged kids.
Elementary students are picked up from school each day and brought to the B&G Club. “So, if you are in elementary kid what you’re going to do is you’re going to have about a half-hour an hour on Mondays because Monday’s are longer days for us and we got some open rec times,” said Director Olivia Dudding. “So, we got foosball and pool, we’ve got board games, we’ve got a computer lab and you can have some time to just get some wiggles out and decompress.” It is after this time that students will gather for a club meeting to discuss the day’s agenda, recite the club’s code and begin Power Hour – which is time for students to work on any homework from school. After this time an activity is presented to the students to choose from like an art project, physical activity or games or a cooking demonstration. Generally, the activity will keep students occupied until the club closes at 6:00 pm.
High School students are less structured in their time at the club. “So, we want the teen center to be a place to feel comfortable. Obviously, it’s got to be a safe place and there’s people that are there to mentor and guide them but it’s got to be a place they feel comfortable,” said Dudding. The teens have a virtual room, computer lab, pool table and foosball that they can choose from. There are a few students that are part of the Keystone Club which is a group of students that work together to better their community through various activities and service projects.
Coming up in April will be Boys & Girls Club Week where the community will be invited to come for free tours and get to know the local Price Boys and Girls Club.
Dudding has been within the B&G Club organization for five years working at various clubs in the Salt Lake City area before coming to Price. She is very vested in your position as she explains, “What I tell my staff that is really cool is I think people see an after-school as a fun thing you can do part time but it’s such an important job because you have the opportunity to shape what the future looks like.” Dudding is originally from Ohio where she says it’s very similar to Carbon County as it too is a coal mining community and very close-knit.
To learn more about Price Boys & Girls Club stop by their location at 30 East 200 South in Price or give them a call at 637-6066.