Boys and Girls Club of Ukiah: A safe place for kids
Born in Vietnam, Boys and Girls Club CEO Kim Mercier came to the U.S. in 1971 when she was 5. She received her B.A. in Criminal Justice and an M.A. in Public Administration from Northern Michigan University.
She says she’s lived in most of the states, doing non-profit work for over 25 years and has worn a number of hats; she was a former magistrate, juvenile officer, county supervisor and worked in crisis centers and with Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
Living in Seattle, most recently, she and her husband relocated to Sacramento and missing work in non-profits, when the CEO for the Boys and Girls Club came open a year ago, it was the right fit for her.
“I feel fortunate to be here and am learning a lot about the community. For such a small rural community, there’s a great deal of strong support; people know this is a safe place for kids and that’s what matters most. They might not know the national programs and what we do to help the kids reach academic success, but our community knows it’s safe,” she says.
“We opened our doors to kindergartners — our largest growing population — this year because we realized there was a gap in after school activities for them but kids 12 and up don’t find this a cool place to hang out; there’s still a gap for where that can happen.
“I’m struggling as a new CEO to figure out what we need to do to create a space for older kids. I want to get them before they are in crisis. I want to reach those kids and have a place where it’s just their space. That has to be a priority for the Club.”
Mercier says they have been doing a lot with partnerships, that instead of holding out their hand they are saying, let me hold your hand and figure out what we can do as a partner.
“I think that’s a new approach for the Club; traditionally we’ve not sought partnerships so a lot of changes are coming.”
Due to COVID, they are seeing huge academic and social changes in the children who she estimates are about two years behind.
“They don’t have the social skills to interact with each other. It comes down to mental health.”
For the first time in its 29 years, the Club is offering a themed summer program, Summer on the Farm, from June 14 to Aug. 11 with open hours Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. where the kids will have an opportunity to learn about nature, sustainable healthy eating with hands-on activities, field trips, meals and snacks provided.
“We’re recognizing our farmers,” says Mercier. “The goal is to expose our children to agriculture and to natural resources and to introduce farming, the farm life, and how it benefits us.”
Karen Antoni will be the lead volunteer coordinator for the garden project and she plans on planting the regular garden fare — tomatoes, squash and cukes — in the outdoor raised beds. They have been given an aeroponic system — growing plants in an air or mist environment with no substrate — and she plans on starting that with some herbs.
They are partnering with Rainbow Ag, and the children will do a field trip to the store to see chickens and goats in milking and cheese making. They will be visiting the Hopland Field Station for some ag education. They are hoping to coordinate with Navarro Vineyards and visit their goat dairy and commercial sheep production and with the local 4-H groups to check out their rabbits.
At the end of the summer, they will prepare a farm to table picnic dinner for their families with farmers invited to attend as local heroes.
The Boys and Girls Club Fund Drive is well underway and this year’s goal is $65,000. To donate, send your checks, made out to Ukiah Boys and Girls Club, to P.O. Box 67, Ukiah, CA 95482 or go to their website ukiahbgc.org.
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