At the Castaic Middle School, a new location of the Santa Clarita Valley Boys & Girls Club has opened as a resource for local junior high school students. 

This location, which first opened its doors Monday, Feb. 7, is the Boys & Girls Club’s fourth location in the Santa Clarita Valley. An official ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled to be held later this Spring with tours of the school. 

“Expanding services to the Castaic community has been a goal of ours for years. Having a Boys & Girls Club serving unincorporated areas of Castaic and Val Verde is essential in helping to put the young people of the Santa Clarita Valley on a path to a successful future.  Thanks to Supervisor Barger’s support, the dream of this program is being realized,” said Gloria Mercado-Fortine, a board member of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley. 

A long-time advocate of this location, Mercado-Fortine and the current board president, Matt Carpenter, are excited to introduce this new avenue of connection and support for Castaic kids. The kids can now have a new place to hang out with friends and be poured into by others who want to see them succeed. 

This new location will bring additional after-school programs and extracurricular activities, as well as on-site tutors and academic counselors, leadership training, and more. Coming out of the pandemic, these kids and students have experienced an overwhelming amount of change in the last two years, and hopefully this new place can be a place of security and consistency for them, according to supporters. 

“We are excited to provide a Club experience that supports academic success, builds futures, and provides a safe place with caring adults,” said Mercado-Fortine, who worked on the committee to spearhead the effort and was president of the board when plans were formalized.

The Club is open to Castaic Middle School youth.  Annual membership is $60 per year.  The other three Club locations are James T. Ventress Clubhouse in Newhall, Sierra Vista Clubhouse in Canyon Country, and at Wiley Canyon Elementary School.  At all sites, members have access to homework help, leadership programs, sports programs, the arts, mentoring and more. School break programs are $10 per day.  Scholarships are available.

To find out more or register, click here. 

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