YOUTH : WESTMINSTER : Boys and Girls Club Reopening Full-Time

Under new management and after considerable community effort, the once-beleaguered Boys and Girls Club of Westminster is reopening full-time this summer after several years of financial difficulty.

Daniel Trifone, the club’s new executive director, has assumed his duties with a revised agenda that includes reinstating some old programs such as van pickup for latchkey kids, and starting new activities like English classes for Westminster’s large immigrant community.

“The club is important because there (are) a lot of other less desirable options for kids to spend their time,” said Trifone, who expects about 250 children a day during the summer. “The Boys and Girls Club is a positive way to help kids develop individual skills and self-esteem.”

Trifone said the club will offer a full-time summer program for the first time in two years beginning June 21. In addition to the standard fare of crafts, sports and games, the club will provide lunches and snacks to 250 low-income children a day through the summer lunch program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Sixty percent of the kids in Westminster qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school,” Trifone said. “In the summer we don’t want to see them miss meals.”

Trifone, who was the executive director of Camp Fire Boys and Girls for San Diego County, also is planning cultural programs and a counseling center for children and their parents.

The 10-week day camp, which costs $25 per child, will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Extended hours are available in some circumstances. The club’s programs include dance, photography and sports, as well as a field trip each week.

Two bilingual staff members who speak Vietnamese and two Spanish-speakers will be working this summer. Also, Household Bank has donated 24 computers and is helping the club develop a learning center.

After almost three years of financial difficulties, the club is now back in full operation. It closed in 1990 because of financial problems, and has been open only part-time since July, 1992.

Thanks to an outpouring of support from the community and a number of businesses, the club is finally operating with a balanced budget, said club president Marge Shillington.

The city--which owns the clubhouse--gave $70,000 to refurbish the facility.

After fixing up the building, the board hired Trifone as the new executive director. “We thought he was real energetic and would do a good job,” Shillington said. “We’re back on track financially, and we knew he could do good things for us.”

For more information about club activities, call (714) 379-0097. Contributions and volunteers also are welcome.