Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line enacts membership cap

Press release

The Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line is full to bursting.

On average, the club sees 230 children attend each day with high attendance days nearing 250. That’s full capacity for the club, and the primary reason the club made the difficult decision to cap its membership, effective Oct. 8.

“This isn’t something we take lightly,” said Krista Solomon, executive director of the club. “We strive to reach all kids who need us, but we also have to consider our space and staffing, and we are at full capacity.”

This is the second time the club has had to cap its membership since it first opened in 2002. In 2008, the club capped membership at 180 average daily attendance while also implementing a capital campaign to “Give More Kids the Club.” After constructing a new 4,000 square foot multi-purpose room and full-service kitchen, the cap was lifted in 2016, with the hope of increasing the daily average by 50.

Club Director Tim Brurud said the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line has reached and surpassed a number of record highs over the past year, including the club’s average daily attendance for the week and the month as well as the highest single-day attendance.

“We see more kids on a daily basis — nearly 230 of them — than we ever imagined when we first opened,” Brurud said. “But we’re now at our max and we can’t take on any new members. The continued safety of our kids here and the integrity of our youth programing have to come first.”

The club’s capacity building team is actively working on solutions to the membership cap. Any solution will need to address both space and staffing.

“Our next step is to develop a capacity plan: One that’s aimed at meeting the needs of the community and ensuring our organization and facilities are sustainable for years to come,” Solomon said.