Youth Clubs Finances

Saddled with costly litigation, less money and more members, the Boy Scouts Council of Orange County has issued a public appeal for support of its fight to deny admission to atheist youths. The plea for financial contributions to help a "return to traditional values" is contained in a letter mailed this month to 20,000 households in Orange County. Scouting spokesman Kent Gibbs said several lawsuits nationwide are now challenging Scouting traditions.

Restitution paid by a cruise ship line for causing an oil spill in Los Angeles Harbor will help expand girls basketball programs in Watts and Wilmington, Los Angeles City Atty. James Hahn said Tuesday. Hahn presented a $20,000 check to the basketball programs run by a partnership between the Amateur Athletic Foundation and the Watts / Willowbrook and Wilmington Boys and Girls Clubs. The Los Angeles Sparks women's basketball team will support the program by conducting clinics at the two clubs.

After months of rumors, officials of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hollywood and Echo Park confirmed this week that the Echo Park branch will close Dec. 31 unless a major donor is found to pump money into the facility. Community members are now seeking ways to prevent the shutdown of the club at 303 Patton St., which for six years has provided local children ages 6 to 18 with a haven from violence and gang activity.

A police-affiliated youth center is in danger of closing as early as November, with a one-time grant almost exhausted, officials say. The center, which serves about 1,200 youths up to age 17, opened three years ago this week with a three-year, $120,000 grant from the Los Angeles-based Audrey & Sidney Irmas Foundation.

The board of directors of the Glendale Teen Support Center has asked the city for a $20,000 contribution toward a $100,000 fund needed to reopen the center. The City Council will consider the request on June 6 as part of a daylong budget review session. Don Sweetnam, board president, said the council should contribute to the center because it was the only facility of its kind in the city where youngsters could drop by after school to talk with one another and with counselors.

Restitution paid by a cruise ship line for causing an oil spill in Los Angeles Harbor will help expand girls basketball programs in Watts and Wilmington, Los Angeles City Atty. James Hahn said Tuesday. Hahn presented a $20,000 check to the basketball programs run by a partnership between the Amateur Athletic Foundation and the Watts / Willowbrook and Wilmington Boys and Girls Clubs. The Los Angeles Sparks women's basketball team will support the program by conducting clinics at the two clubs.

The West Valley Boys & Girls Club will celebrate the opening of a new unit Thursday on the campus of Columbus Middle School. The Columbus Teen Unit will feature a game room, a teen lounge, a computer lab, arts and crafts and homework study areas. The unit will open with the assistance of a $75,000 federal grant, part of a recent $20-million congressional appropriation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The funds are part of a five-year effort to serve 1 million additional youths nationally.

An additional $1.1 million in grants from the 1984 Olympic Games surplus has been awarded by the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, with the largest amount, $150,000, going to Los Angeles Boys and Girls Clubs for gymnasium construction. Including the new grants, almost $80 million has been issued in the last 13 years.

A resident whose home was burglarized was so jubilant when police recovered his property that he made an anonymous $2,000 donation to the city. The City Council this week accepted the gift and dedicated the money to the city's Young Adult Teen Club, which is advised by police officers and aims to keep juveniles from becoming involved in crime. Police Chief David S. Barr gave council members a brief description of how the donation came about.

The City Council won't reconsider a proposal to build a Pep Boys retail store and automotive service facility in the Imperial Rose Shopping Center. More than a dozen residents opposed to the project urged the council this week not to rehear it. Residents who live near the site said the 18,560-square-foot retail and automotive service facility would add noise and traffic and affect their quality of life.

The West Valley Boys & Girls Club will celebrate the opening of a new unit Thursday on the campus of Columbus Middle School. The Columbus Teen Unit will feature a game room, a teen lounge, a computer lab, arts and crafts and homework study areas. The unit will open with the assistance of a $75,000 federal grant, part of a recent $20-million congressional appropriation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The funds are part of a five-year effort to serve 1 million additional youths nationally.

Hoping to bring a little bit of Disneyland to central Santa Ana, the Boys and Girls Club will sponsor its first-ever carnival beginning today. The club hopes to raise up to $3,000 from the four-day event, which runs through Sunday. Admission is $1, and rides will cost $1.50 to $2.25. Food and drink also will be available. John Brewster, the club's executive director, said the carnival is designed to boost the club's profile in the community and attract more members.

Gun enthusiast Yank Price admits that he misfired when he set his sights on a target for a charity fund-raiser this weekend. Price aimed to raise as much as $15,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Venice through a two-day "shooting sports expo" that his International Shooting Assn. is helping sponsor starting today at the Los Angeles Police Academy.

An additional $1.1 million in grants from the 1984 Olympic Games surplus has been awarded by the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, with the largest amount, $150,000, going to Los Angeles Boys and Girls Clubs for gymnasium construction. Including the new grants, almost $80 million has been issued in the last 13 years.

The City Council won't reconsider a proposal to build a Pep Boys retail store and automotive service facility in the Imperial Rose Shopping Center. More than a dozen residents opposed to the project urged the council this week not to rehear it. Residents who live near the site said the 18,560-square-foot retail and automotive service facility would add noise and traffic and affect their quality of life.

Representatives of the Boys and Girls Club asked the City Council this week for $25,000 to pay insurance bills due this month. Club Executive Director Ruben Alvarez Jr. told officials that several insurance premiums are due and that the club does not have the money to pay them. "We've been able to bring in enough money to keep the doors open and keep minimum staff, but in order to grow and outreach to more kids, we need additional funds," Alvarez said.

Representatives of the Boys and Girls Club asked the City Council this week for $25,000 to pay insurance bills due this month. Club Executive Director Ruben Alvarez Jr. told officials that several insurance premiums are due and that the club does not have the money to pay them. "We've been able to bring in enough money to keep the doors open and keep minimum staff, but in order to grow and outreach to more kids, we need additional funds," Alvarez said.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky announced Wednesday that he will grant $20,000 to the West Valley Boys & Girls Club to help build a second center at Columbus Middle School in Canoga Park. "It's critical that we try to provide our community's young people with the widest possible variety of positive recreational opportunities and social activities," Yaroslavsky said in a statement.

The Los Angeles City Council approved $150,000 Tuesday to help finance construction of a new headquarters for the East 60th Street Community Improvement Club, which has focused for nearly three decades on keeping at-risk youths off the streets. The money will give a much-needed boost to stalled efforts to raise $1.6 million for a building that will house a room for dance and martial arts instruction, a small library, a computer lab and an industrial kitchen for cooking classes.

A resident whose home was burglarized was so jubilant when police recovered his property that he made an anonymous $2,000 donation to the city. The City Council this week accepted the gift and dedicated the money to the city's Young Adult Teen Club, which is advised by police officers and aims to keep juveniles from becoming involved in crime. Police Chief David S. Barr gave council members a brief description of how the donation came about.