Jackson Free Press

Boys & Girls Club of Central Mississippi President and CEO Billy Redd said his organization is planning to close three area facilities for the second time in two years because of a lack of long-term funding.

After Dec. 31, more than 1,000 Jackson metro school children could be left unsupervised if the organization does not receive additional donations. Redd says he is currently taking procedures to close the Bolton, Canton and Magnolia facilities. In March 2009, the Boys & Girls Club announced that it would close Walker, Magnolia and Bolton units if the organization did not received $500,000 by April 1. Redd said the community stepped up with one-time donations last year, and while it prevented the facilities from closing, the organization desperately needs long-term funding.

"We had to raise $500,000 in long-term sustainable funding, and the community was fantastic," he says. "The way we develop kids is through long-term ongoing involvement in their life. We take a kid in at 6 years old, and work with them. ... We do anything you can think of that helps a kid develop, and we do that all the way until they turn 19. ... That requires long-term ongoing support."

Redd said the organization will accept one-time gifts from donors to keep the facilities open, but to be sustainable, the organization needs long-term commitments. The Boys & Girls Club of Central Mississippi has an annual operation budget of $2.6 million. Redd said the organization primarily receives funds from donors, one-time public and private grants, and its annual Blues by Starlight fundraiser. Grants only make up 10 percent of the organization's budget, Redd said.