In previous summers, working parents have taken their children down the road to the Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau’s campus in Cashiers for childcare during the day. This year, they won’t have to do it anymore, as the Boys and Girls Club has a new location in Highlands.
The building, located at 171 Hospital Drive, is on the Highlands-Cashiers Hospital campus. The building, once used for doctors’ offices, has been renovated to offer space for children to do activities and learn.
According to Boys and Girls Club chairman Joy Clark, the plan is to bring the Cashiers and Highlands children together by grade – so, all students of one grade will be at either one campus or the other depending on the day.
The kids will take field trips to places like the Highlands Biological Station and the library, and otherwise will be occupied by the usual Boys and Girls Club activities, including doing homework during the school year, doing exercises and games, and learning about art or STEM. Clark said everything they do is tailored to be both educational and fun.
“We want them to have fun,” Clark said. “As far as they’re concerned, they might not know if they’re learning anything, but they are.”
There’s also a new fenced-off area in the parking lot of the hospital campus where members of the club will play outside games and exercises.
While registration for summer camp is already full, those looking to get their kids in the fall after-school program can visit the Boys and Girls Club website at bgcplateau.org to apply.
Also, according to Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau CEO Carmen Waite, transportation will be provided for the kids from Highlands School to the Highlands Boys and Girls Club campus when school is in session.
A ribbon cutting was held Tuesday afternoon, May 21, with several officials from the Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau and the Town of Highlands in attendance along with several children enrolled in the club.
Boys and Girls Club board member Mike Kistner spoke at the ribbon cutting and recalled being “literally blown away” when he first visited the Cashiers location a few years ago, which prompted him to start getting involved.
Kistner thanked Mayor Patrick Taylor and hospital officials for their “tremendous support” in helping the new building along.
Taylor also briefly spoke, saying it was a “very important day” for the town, and called the hospital “a great community partner” for offering the space.
“Childcare is a critical need,” he said. “We don’t have enough. We need after school care, and a daycare summer program. This is a great step forward for Highlands and for the plateau.”
After the ribbon cutting, the Boys and Girls Club served appetizers and cake at a reception inside and several children played in and outside of the new building, the mood jovial.
The opening of the new campus will hopefully be a boon for working parents who need a safe and fun environment for kids over the summer while school is out. Because of living costs in the Town of Highlands, many workers in town must commute from surrounding areas, and those with children have trouble finding childcare that can accommodate them.
“Summer is kind of a no man’s land for kids,” Highlands-Cashiers Health Foundation president Charlotte Muir said, recounting her own experiences in the last few years. “You’d have to piece together a bunch of different summer camps.”
Muir thought the opening of the new club building in Highlands would “change the lives of Highlands parents.”
First Presbyterian Church Pastor Emily Wilmath was in attendance with her son and said the new building would be a big help for their family.
“We need all kinds of childcare, and we can all work together to provide it,” she said. “We can’t bring all the kids to church – we all need to help each other.”
Local parent Devin Allio attended the ribbon cutting with his wife and child and said they would also benefit from the new campus.
“Being a young family, having two working parents, it’s incredibly helpful to have [the Boys and Girls Club],” he said. “My daughter goes to Highlands School, and we’ve been taking her to Cashiers. It’s helpful to have a place here. It allows my wife and I to work and allows [my daughter] to socialize. I couldn’t be happier.”
Allio said he was happy for the convenience to both “live and work in Highlands.”