LCRA, CITY OF BRENHAM GRANT $8,445 TO BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF WASHINGTON CO.
The Boys and Girls Club of Washington County will be able to replace a faltering air-conditioning unit to help keep its summer programs available to area youth, thanks to a grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and the City of Brenham.
(courtesy LCRA)
The $8,445 grant, along with $2,500 in matching funds, will pay for the replacement of one of eight air-conditioning units that cool the club’s roughly 16,000-square-foot building at 1710 East Tom Green Street.
The club’s building is nearly 17 years old, and several of its air-conditioning units need to be replaced in the next few years. Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Stephanie Wehring said with this grant, the organization will be able to replace one unit that it believes “has been through its last summer.” She said this will allow the club to continue running its community programs without fear of having to cancel any of them as summer progresses.
The club provides meals and year-round educational and recreational programs for children living in Washington County. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 275 children ages 6-18 participated in the club’s eight-week summer program. As part of the program, the club serves breakfast, lunch and a snack each weekday to participating youths, who also enjoy field trips to the nearby Blue Bell Aquatic Center and other area attractions.
The community grant is one of 25 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps fund the capital improvement projects of volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. The City of Brenham is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July. More information is available at www.lcra.org/cdpp.