WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A campaign nearly five years in the making is bringing big changes to the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita Falls.

“Our journey began, actually, at a board meeting in April of 2018 when Bob Gunn challenged the board to investigate, ‘Do we need to build a new facility?'” Boys and Girls Club of Wichita Falls Executive Director Randy Cooper said. “Where are our kids in the community? There was a lot of homework.”

Ultimately, it was decided a new facility is needed and would be located off of Rosewood Avenue in-between Marconi St. and Juarez St.

“Our new Rosewood facility is going to be approximately 20,000 square feet,” Cooper said. “It will be state-of-the-art. There will be security features in there so that our kids and their families are as safe as they can be.”

On top of that, there will be a lot of lighting as well as the largest gymnasium among all of the facilities with a maple floor.

That structure will have an art and dance studio as well as a learning center with a tech lab, but that’s not all the Capital Campaign will help with.

“The campaign will result in much-needed improvements to our current facilities,” Cooper said. “We’ll take a look at and improve lighting, take a look at and improve our exterior and interior finishes, flooring, paint, and replacement of some doors and equipment. Many things to upgrade our facilities.”

Cooper hopes where this new facility will be located will also help grow that side of town.

“Our new facility is going to impact kids that need it most,” Cooper said. “We’re in a targeted area and we feel that from projects, we are not only going to serve that immediate area, but we are only a short distance from the new high school being built. We think we will reach into Sunnyside to Sun Valley and other quadrants as well.”

With these changes, the hope is to make a huge impact on the lives of the children of the Boys and Girls Club.

The Boys and Girls Club’s goal is $11.5 million, and Cooper said they have had great success and are expecting to exceed that and hopefully break ground on the new facility in late March.