MORGANTOWN — Families that have already paid for summer programming through the Mountaineer Boys & Girls Club will receive refunds.
Eric Murphy, who serves as a parent advocate and a member of the club’s board of directors, said the board is working on that process now.
“There is no specific date I can give, but we’re working to get this done as fast as possible,” Murphy said.
The refunds come after the sudden announcement last week that the non-profit was temporarily closing club sites and suspending programming for the remainder of the summer.
Murphy said the closure was mandated by Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the national organization.
A statement provided to The Dominion Post by the Boys & Girls Club of America cited the need for “several operational improvements,” adding “Some of the operational enhancements will be safety related.”
The Atlanta, Ga.-based organization responded to a request for more specific information with the following: “This temporary closure was directed by BGCA in order to give the organization the opportunity to meet membership requirements that are aimed at enhancing and improving the Club experience for young people.”
Murphy said the local board is using this time to discuss a number of topics, including the future of the club’s leadership.
“As of right now, I think there is some conversation about how leadership is going to move forward and what that leadership will look like,” he said. “But I don’t think I have all the information right now to truly put that out.”
While he did not provide specific examples of the operational issues that need to be addressed, Murphy said there was a lack of consistency in some of the club’s procedures.
“We’re just making sure we’ve got everything in place to meet the requirements of the national Boys & Girls Club,” he explained. “I think, more than anything, the issues were more about being systematic. There just wasn’t the appropriate system in place to meet the current needs. Those needs were fulfilled at one point in time, and now they’re not. We have to evolve in that process and make sure we have a system in place that is sustainable.”
The club has said it intends to be back up and running in time for the before and after school programs, this fall.
In the meantime, Murphy said, the organization is aware that the loss of summer programming has impacted a lot of families. He estimated there were about 150 kids enrolled for the summer.
“The only thing I can say is this definitely sucks,” he said. “We’re focused on making the before and after school programming as thorough, effective, fun and safe for the children as it can be. That’s what we’re focused on in the present. We don’t ever want to have to go through anything close to this ever again.”
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