Teens at the Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley Receive New Wheels

MOLINE, Ill. – The Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley (BGCMV) got everything crossed off their wish list this year thanks to a generous $10,000 grant from the Ascentra Credit Union Foundation which enabled them get a new set of wheels.

Every day, club members are picked up from school then taken to one of four BGCMV clubs.  The nonprofit organization serves over 700 youth in four different Quad City locations—two in Davenport, Iowa and two in Moline, Ill.—including the Moline Teen Center.

Previous fundraising efforts allowed the BGCMV to purchase two new vans to replace an aging fleet, but thanks to the Ascentra Credit Union Foundation grant, they were poised to dedicate a new 15-passenger van exclusively for their Moline Teen Center.

“We are thrilled to have a safe vehicle to transport our club members from school to club and throughout the community to experience opportunities they otherwise may not have,” said Jenny Garlach, Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley Executive Director. 

With a significant influx in teen memberships over the past two years, it was an easy decision to dedicate the new van to the teen center.  According to Garlach, the teen center’s van gets the most miles out of all of the vans due to a lot of their members’ involvement with sports, including transporting them on the weekends.  The van also helps with other youth development opportunities such as post high school planning and career exploration through college visits and job shadows, and other hands on experiences like volunteering.

“Thanks to the work the Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley does, many youth in our region have a safe place to go after school to do their homework, learn something new, make a new friend, have a hot meal, and so much more,” said Dale Owen, Ascentra President and CEO. “We are happy to collaborate in this manner to help further the mission and all of the great work the BGCMV does.”