After a Petaluma Boys & Girls Club employee was arrested recently for suspicion of child endangerment, the CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County released the following statement:
As there are many school districts, some larger and some smaller, in our county, so too are there multiple Boys & Girls Clubs organizations. Though sharing the same mission, each organization is an independent 501C3 organization, governed by its own board of directors and led by a CEO. Each organization puts into place its own business practices and sets its own priorities. The largest among them is Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County. The name is a bit of a misnomer as this organization has 32 locations in eight communities in the county; Cloverdale, Geyserville, Healdsburg, Windsor, Guerneville, Monte Rio, Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park. It should be noted that in Santa Rosa, there is one club which is unaffiliated, located on Hahman Drive.
Recently two club organizations have had staff members in the headlines, the clubs in Sonoma and Petaluma. Both of these organizations are independent of the larger county organization. Neither of these individuals have ever been employed by or affiliated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County in any way.
Along with the independent Santa Rosa club, the Petaluma and Sonoma organizations participated in consolidation discussions nine years ago but opted to stay independent. At that time clubs in Rohnert Park, Healdsburg, Windsor and later Cloverdale, joined forces and have grown substantially in the years following.
If you have any questions about the safety practices of the club in your community, contact them directly. For Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County, practices are highlighted on our website at www.bgccsc.org and our phone number is 528-7977.
The absolute most important promise we make to the community and specifically to our club members and their parents is to do everything within our power to keep kids safe. Safe from any type of harm. We work daily to put in place every best practice we can to do this.
Jennifer Weiss is the CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County
