History
20 Years and Counting ...
The year was 1991. The United States was leading her allies to victory in the Gulf War. The Soviet Union was crumbling into oblivion.
In sunny Hobe Sound, Florida, citizens were working together to establish a Boys & Girls Club in Martin County, and soon opened a Club in two small storefronts at a Winn Dixie plaza on Bridge Road.
Twenty years later, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County, with a budget of $2.5 million, is proudly serving nearly 2,000 Club Members six to 18 years of age, helping them
achieve extraordinary things.
Below is a timeline of major events in the 20-year history of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County:
1991: BGCMC begins in two small storefronts in the Hobe Sound Winn-Dixie plaza. The Hobe Sound branch is later named the Cole-Clark branch in honor of the organization’s original founders.
1993: Port Salerno branch opens. It is later renovated and renamed John & Marge Bolton branch.
1993: Club Members and staff use shopping carts to move games, books, and computers into its current Cole-Clark branch in Hobe Sound.
1994: BGCMC expands into Indiantown.
1996: Collaboration with City of Stuart and Stuart Police Department to create a branch at the East 10th Street Recreation Center.
1999: Donors fund an air-conditioned, indoor gym—one of the few in the County—at Cole-Clark branch.
2005: Palm City branch opens in Immanuel Lutheran Church.
2009: BGCMC begins capital campaign to create a state-of-the-art, expanded facility in the heart of Indiantown.
2009: Club Members in Palm City cut the ribbon on the new H. Wayne Huizenga branch, a renovated Martin County firehouse.
2009: Major renovations are completed at Cole-Clark branch in Hobe Sound, including a new computer laboratory, expanded art room, tutoring rooms for individualized help, and the County’s only teen room.
2011: BGCMC launches The Club, a new program designed exclusively for Martin County’s teens.
Spotlights
Support our Indiantown Campaign!
Ground has been broken and infrastructure construction has begun on our new Indiantown Clubhouse, which is expected to open first quarter 2014!
Designed by Stuart-based architectural firm OCampo & Associates, the new Clubhouse features a full-size gymnasium, performing arts space, learning & technology labs, a kitchen, and plenty of space to build and develop the potential of Indiantown’s most extraordinary asset —its children-- through Education & Career Development, Character Leadership Development, Health & Life Skills, The Arts and Sports, Fitness & Recreation.
The new 22,000 square foot club house will enable us to greatly expand our capacity and we expect membership in Indiantown to double in its first year of operation!
Retro Game Show is June 22!
