COMFORT, Texas – Even though it's not due to open until September, the new Boys and Girls Club in Comfort was filled with kids and supporters who broke ground for the final touch on the building phase at 444 Front St.
The new state-of-the-art playground called "Will's World" was named after the namesake of the Will Smith Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing enrichment activities for children in need. The town certainly fit that criteria when it came to after school programs due to the fact that, until now, it had no place to call home.
Linda Sour, the Boys and Girls Club of Comfort program director, said that the $2.2 million facility allows the children of Comfort to have the same experiences of other cities.
"Comfort Elementary has been kind enough to let us use their facility for several years, so to be able to get out on our own finally is a huge achievement," said Sour.
She estimated that more than 150 children are enrolled in summer programs now.
The money for the new building was raised in advance of the construction, and only the playground is left to be built. The grand opening will be in September.
Boys and Girls Club Hill Country Executive Director Linda Watson said there is a lot of anticipation.
"The Boys and Girls Club of Comfort has been the best kept secret in town. Nobody knew there was a Boys and Girls Club. So now that we have this building, we will be able to put a sign up that says, 'Great Futures Start Here,'" she said.
The children will begin using the facility on the first day of school in August.
The Will Smith Foundation designed the playground with input from the kids, but also with thought to the idea that Comfort had been without for so long, it needed something special.
"You go through Comfort and there's the cute antique stores, but you don't see the behind the scenes and the places that kids have to go to play in. This building is so amazing and for Comfort to have a place like this, it needed a playground to match," said WSF Executive Director and CEO Susan Moulton.
Will Smith was killed in a car crash in Hawaii when he was 8. He would have been 16 this year. The Boys and Girls Club of Comfort serves kids ages 6 through 8. For more information on enrollment and programs, contact Linda Watson at 830-997-8241.