For the City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The Boys & Girls Club of the Wisconsin Rapids Area celebrated 25 years on Oct. 11. Club members, staff, and board members celebrated with cake and birthday themed activities at each of the club’s four locations.

The Boys & Girls Club of the Wisconsin Rapids Area started in 1994 and was operated out of a trailer, then the Elks Building until 1999, when the club purchased the building on Baker Drive. In 2000 and 2001 the Port Edwards and Mead sites were opened. The club’s Nekoosa site was opened in 2009.

In 2010, the Baker Street site received a gift from the Mead/Witter Foundation to construct an addition to the building for a Teen Center.

In 2013, the Baker Drive site was relocated to the former Pitsch Elementary School building.

The YMCA formed their official partnership with the Boys & Girls Club in 2015 for a brand-new facility, and in 2017, the YMCA purchased the Wisconsin Rapids Mall. Groundbreaking took place in 2018 and the facility is expected to be completed in March 2020.