07.06.10

Cantwell Celebrates HOPE Center and Boys and Girls Club with Community Leaders, Supporters

GIG HARBOR, WA – Today U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) celebrated with local community members at an appreciation event for the Jim and Carolyn Milgard Home of Opportunity, Possibility, and Empowerment (HOPE) Center and the Cheney Boys and Girls Club. Cantwell congratulated the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula community for building an innovative facility designed for multi-use to promote collaboration among non-profit agencies in order to better serve youth and families in the region. The HOPE Center, which opened in October 2009, provides services to Gig Harbor as well as Mason and Kitsap Counties.
 
“We are all here with the common goal of supporting the community and its youth,” said Senator Cantwell. “The Jim and Carolyn Milgard HOPE Center and the Cheney Boys and Girls Club will provide important resources to the region through the combined collaborative efforts of an entire community. Your passion and dedication toward the success of this facility will echo through the many families and youth who utilize this Center.”
 
In the first six months of the Jim and Carolyn Milgard HOPE Center opening, the facility received more than 80 youth and 160 members of the community daily; between 800 and 1,000 people per day during the weekend; and hosted more than 250 community events. The center also houses the Cheney Boys and Girls Club.
 
In 2004, the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound launched the ‘It Just Takes ONE’ capital campaign to raise funds to build seven HOPE Centers throughout the South Puget Sound area, including the one in Gig Harbor being celebrated today. In 2005, Senator Cantwell secured $250,000 in funding for the initiative. Each HOPE Center will house a Boys and Girls Club as well as other tenants that provide valuable services of need in the community. For example, the Jim and Carolyn Milgard HOPE Center houses a social outlet for seniors to participate in health and well-being activities and a dental clinic for children in need.
 
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