Boys & Girls club will benefit all of us

By Jonathan Kipp

, Oct 1, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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Although Forest Grove is considered a sort of utopia by some we have many of the same problems as most other towns in Oregon.

Some are bigger; some not as bad that they could be. The city's low crime rate is a good example.

Our streets are not the safest in the state but we are in the right half of a long index list. But the obvious concern about crime here is the complacency we have about the potential that things could be worse.

Nothing could impede our quality of life in Forest Grove more than an increase in crime. There are many antidotes to this problem but let’s start with these: keeping all of our kids in school, engaged in productive activities in and out of school, healthy and sober.

In the United States crime and violence among youth is climbing upward, but we can slow down this national trend in our little town with an important partner you may not have heard about: The Forest Grove Boys & Girls Club.

True, the club does not exist yet. But it will with your help.

Very soon what started as a vision of a Forest Grove Boys and Girls Club will take a giant leap forward into reality. And by reality I mean moms and dads, grandparents, teachers, community leaders and your neighbors (who you didn’t even think liked kids that much) will join together to build this facility. We will collectively take a bold step toward challenging our own complacency about the future --- and our kids.

I hope you'll join in.

Our own Boys & Girls Club will help our kids stay in school.

In a recent Boys & Girls Club alumni survey, 28 percent of respondents reported they would have dropped out of high school if not for the club and 50 percent achieved a higher level of education because of their involvement with the club.

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