Boys & Girls Club Building 10-Acre East Austin Campus

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area officials have announced plans to break ground next week on a 10-acre East Austin campus with a 32,000-square-foot facility as the centerpiece of the development.

The complex featuring the expansive Home Club will be located near the intersection of Ed Bluestein Boulevard and Manor Lane, officials said in a press release. The facility will enable the organization to serve an additional 1,000 youth, with the Home Club addressing challenges for economically disadvantaged East Austin youth lacking a place to go after school and during other out-of-school periods, officials said.

The new flagship facility will, for the first time in Austin, locate BGCAA administrative offices in the same space with the youth it serves, officials noted. The so-called “Sheth Family Campus,” named in recognition of a multi-million dollar donation from Adria and Brian Sheth, founders of The Sheth Sangreal Foundation, will feature a STEM learning center, library, lab, art studios, teen center, and indoor and outdoor athletic facilities.

The indoor athletic facility at the site will be named in honor of St. David’s Foundation, which provided a $1 million donation to fund development of the Home Club. An additional $1 million was provided by an anonymous donor with numerous significant donations from leading community and business leaders. To see a listing of current donors, click here.

“Adria and I know that supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area is more than charity — it’s an investment in our community’s most precious resource, with unlimited potential returns,” said Brian Sheth, co-founder of The Sheth Sangreal Foundation. “What’s more, we encourage the community to help the Home Club become a reality and donor matching is a great tool to achieve that goal.”

With the April 17 groundbreaking in sight, BGCAA officials also announced launch of a public campaign to raise the additional support needed to open the doors to the Sheth Family Campus. The #BringUsHome campaign offers an opportunity for Central Texas residents to have a positive, lasting impact on Austin-area kids and teens through programmatic support and capital campaign donations —investing in local youth who need us most to help them build great futures.

"A gift to #BringUsHome is an investment in our community’s most precious resource," officials said in their press release. "More information about the #BringUsHome campaign and plans for building more great futures at the Home Club on the Sheth Family Campus can be found at www.bgcaustin.org/home/homeclub."

Earl Maxwell, the chief executive officer of St. David's Foundation, lauded the work the BGCAA performs in the community: “Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area is doing a fantastic job of providing out-of-school activities for young people across our community. We are delighted to be a part of this exciting new Home Club. Congratulations to BGCAA on the upcoming groundbreaking."

More than 105,000 Austin-area youth still lack free or affordable programming after school each day, officials noted. While Austin has experienced tremendous economic growth, tens of thousands of Austin’s kids leave school every day with no place to go, they added. As a result, such youth risk being unsupervised, unguided and unsafe. The after-school hours between 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. have shown to be the key period ripe for risky behavior among youth, officials said.

“Our new Home Club on the Sheth Family Campus will address real challenges facing youth in East Austin. We are grateful for investments from the Sheth family, St. David’s Foundation, and many others who have brought us to the point of ground-breaking—ultimately allowing Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area to realize our vision for a place where families can gather and grow together,” said Misti Potter, Chief Executive Officer, BGCAA. “We know that when a Boys & Girls Club moves into a neighborhood, risky behaviors and school absences decline, while school attendance and grades improve. Boys & Girls Clubs make a difference in the lives of youth today while building a better community tomorrow.”

About Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area (provided text):

Since 1967, BGCAA has provided a fun, safe and constructive environment for kids and teens during out-of-school hours. BGCAA has expanded to 33 shared-facility locations serving Travis and Bastrop Counties and currently engages 11,300 youth annually, of which on average 2,300 are in the Club every day.

>>> Top image: Rendering shows the planned 32,000-square-foot Home Club amid a 10-acre campus in East Austin. Architect: STG Design, Rendering by Stantec