Gazette-Times reporter

Summer is here, school is out, and the Corvallis Boys & Girls Club has changed it hours to offer more children and teens good times in a safe, supervised location.

The Clubhouse at 1112 N.W. Circle Blvd. will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday during the summer for all members. Membership per child or teen costs $25 a year, and scholarships are available for those who can't afford to pay the fee.

In summers past, clubhouse access was a $30 a week for students who weren't part of the paid summer camp activities at the club, but Boys & Girls Club CEO Helen Higgins said that was a big deterrent for teens. So this year, by offering the clubhouse and many fun classes and clubs, she is hoping that many more local kids take advantage of what the Boys & Girls Club has to offer.

"It's the right thing to do for the teens in our community," Higgins said.

Clubhouse director Matt Fee said the summer programs for club members include SMART (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training) moves, a prevention program to help young people resist alcohol, drugs and premature sexual activity.

Another class, NetSmartz, teaches safe and ethical Internet use with a special focus on social networking and the dangers of adults pretending to be kids online.

Several technology-based activities include the DJ Lab and the Audio Mixing Club. Students can use the club's digital mixing board, turntables and synthesizer to create and record music. By training middle- and high-schoolers how to DJ, it also helps the club; they don't have to pay a professional DJ to work at their dances.

The Clubhouse Art Center, operated by Nelia Mendonca, is offering a series of art classes, ranging from scrapbooking to creative sewing, with a low fee for supplies, usually $5 (Scrapbooking is the exception at $10).

"I'm going to attempt to teach 10 kids how to crochet," Mendonca said. Because fewer kids use the art center in the summer, she can more easily teach complicated art forms.

A new addition to the art center is a tribute wall at the entrance that honors Alma and Emilie Jo Pastega, the late wife and daughter of Corvallis businessman and philanthropist Mario Pastega. Pastega is a long-time supporter of the Boys & Girls Club. His wife and daughter both had a deep love for art, so continuing contributions to the art center made sense.

"It makes me feel proud," Pastega said, "that we can let the youngsters know that are coming here that these are two real people who were very much involved in art like they are here."

Pastega wasn't able to calculate the total amount he's donated to the club over the years. Higgins and Mendonca said that he has consistently stepped up to pay for various projects and supplies, and each of the last two years, he's pledged $10,000 in a challenge grant, with the agreement that the Boys & Girls Club would raise matching funds.

The wall started off as a memorial for Emilie Jo, who died at age 23 in 1968. But while work progressed on the project, her mother Alma passed away, and so her artwork and photo were added to the tribute wall. Higgins said the memorial was a way to teach club members of the benefits of generosity and community involvement.

"Our mission here is to develop kids, to develop their characters and help them find their passions and interests, and to create future leaders and future philanthropists."

For more information, call 757-1909 or go to www.bgccorvallis.org