Woburn Boys & Girls Club Unveils Lowe's-Funded Renovations

WOBURN, MA — The James L. McKeown Boys & Girls Club of Woburn unveiled Friday an outdoor renovation featuring a new play area and garden, built with a Lowe's 100 Hometowns Grant.

"With this grant from Lowe's we've been able to upgrade our backyard area," facilities manager Joseph Giaero said. "This was a win-win for everyone."

The Club was awarded the grant in July, as part of the company's 100th-anniversary grant program.

The renovations include a new playground that is up to code, meaning it's accessible for the preschool the club has had since 2017. For older members of the club, renovations included an "outdoor garden and education area," with raised garden beds, compost tumblers and a weather station.

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The grant also paid for outdoor maintenance equipment for Gaiero, who put together the grant application with a preschool teacher at the club. He also plans to install irrigation equipment so the field will remain usable all summer.

"The pre-school kids and the parents, they're all excited," Gaiero said. "Feedback has been very positive from everybody. Working with Lowe's has been great."

Lowe's employees helped with the renovations, with around 60 employees from 13 Lowe's stores participating in a "Red Vest Day" volunteer day in Woburn.

The outdoor renovation caps off the $10 million 2017 renovation of the physical building of the club, Gaiero explained.

"Now it's a complete renovation," he said. "If it wasn't for Lowe's, and Points of Light, we wouldn't have been able to do it."

Points of Light is a nonprofit that helped manage the grant process.

For Gaiero, the Boys & Girls Club is personal — three generations of his family have been involved in the club, from his father to his daughter. The family's connection to the club goes back to the 1960s, when his father began working there. His father also worked there.

Then Gaiero himself was involved in the club as a kid, winning Youth of the Year in 1990. Thirty years later, in 2020, his daughter won the same award.

"it's my second home," he said. "It kept me out of a ton of trouble when I was younger. I do go above and beyond for the kids."

In the years since Gaiero was himself a participant, programming has become more educational, he said.

"We provide the same services — we just do it a lot better now," he said.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.