It was a closely fought foosball battle Tuesday afternoon in the Boys & Girls Clubs of Waco’s newly renovated Joe Troy Brownfield Memorial Branch location.
Nathaniel Walton, 10, and Amere Medlock, 9, hoisted their championship trophy after defeating local Lowe’s employees in a championship faceoff where a former indoor swimming pool area has been turned into a teen center with support from a $50,000 grant partnership with Renovation Across the Nation and Lowe’s.
“This is really exciting because now we have better equipment to play with and we are able to have tournaments,” Nathaniel said. “(The Lowe’s employees) were tougher than I thought, but it was fun.”
Local Boys & Girls Clubs CEO April Rosier said volunteer work, in-kind contributions and the $50,000 grant made the updates to the former church building at 2700 N. 21st St. possible.
“This building has been home to the Boys & Girls Clubs since the early 1980s and it actually used to be a church,” Rosier said. “When it was first purchased, the Boys & Girls Clubs actually built a swimming pool, but over the years it just stopped working.”
Leadership decided to fill in the swimming pool and create two teen areas in its place after receiving the grant. Teen club members suggested ideas on paint colors, activities and the layout of furniture to complete the renovations, she said.
“We have a half-court basketball goal, a gaming center, college readiness center, we also have pool, foosball and pingpong tables,” Rosier said. “We will also have a snack bar and lots of space for them to sit, eat and do their homework.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Waco serves children ages 6 to 18 with a mission of helping them become productive members of the community. Local Lowe’s assistant manager Rod Serrano said the effort was strongly focused and aligned with the local chapter’s mission.
“I see a lot great things, a lot of fun activities and a lot of things that are going to build great things in our community,” Serrano said. “Although we are a big box store, we definitely want to be in touch with our local community and help our future leaders.”
— WACOTRIB