Boys & Girls Club seeks funds for Dayton clubhouse kitchen

A commercial kitchen at the Dayton clubhouse is next on the to-do list for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley.

The club’s food program, one of its core offerings to children in Lyon and Mineral counties, offers a free supper during the school year and free breakfast and lunch during school breaks to all people 18 and younger, regardless of membership status. Currently, the Dayton clubhouse has to transport breakfasts and lunches from a nearby elementary school and can only offer a snack during the school year.

“Once this kitchen is complete, we’ll be able to serve 40,000 hot and nutritious meals a year at absolutely no charge to youth in the Dayton community,” said CEO Travis Crowder. “But at a price tag of around $180,000, we hope we can bring the community together to make this happen.”

Donations can be made at bgcmasonvalley.org/s/donate or by calling 775-463-2334. Companies that are looking for larger partnership or sponsorship opportunities should contact Nick Beaton, BGCMV’s director of development, at nbeaton@bgcmasonvalley.org.

The kitchen will be fully furnished with commercial fridges and freezers, gas stoves, ventilation, ranges, warming areas and more. It will also be fitted with a serving window, making mealtime for the Dayton clubhouse’s 130 daily members much easier.

The club opened its doors on the Dayton clubhouse in time for the 2020-21 school year after COVID made serving youth in elementary schools no longer possible. Many coats of paint, a new HVAC system and two new bathrooms later, the ribbon was officially cut in June 2021. Thanks to the support of the Dayton Valley Chamber of Commerce, a playground was added in October 2022.