The threat of coronavirus continues to affect different businesses and organizations in northern Nevada. The Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows (BGCTM) is normally a safe place for children to go when school is out. Now that Nevada's K-12 schools are closed until April 6, the club would be a likely place for students to get child care and food. With CDC guidelines regarding social distancing and keeping crowds smaller than 50 people, the club decided to close until at least Friday.
"Those were the constraints that started to make it difficult for us to be in a place like the Boys and Girls Club and provide a safe environment," Mike Wurm, CEO of Boys & Girls of Truckee Meadows said.
Wurm says since this is an unprecedented issue, BGCTM is following the CDC guidelines and the lead of other organizations.
"When you see organizations like the NCAA, NFL, Major League Baseball which are money-making machines making decisions to shut down their operations, when you have all the casinos in Las Vegas shutting down, I mean, we're really talking about something that's never happened before and we have to be on board with that," Wurm said.
Wurm said making the decision was very difficult because so many kids rely on the organization for a safe place to go before and after school, as well as for some meals.
"We really want to be there for the kids," Wurm said. "It's a big part of our mission. Part of our mission says serving the kids that need us most and it was as difficult decision for us not to be open this week."
The club provides more than 500,000 meals for children each year. That will continue with its boxed meals program.
"The meal program is a very, very important program whether it's being served through the club or through Kids Cafe or the Food Bank," Wurm said. "It's an important meal that's going to serve the kids every day. For a core of the families that use our club, it may be the best meal or two meals that those kids get during the day."
The Food Bank of Northern Nevada is resuming its Kids Cafe program, starting Tuesday. The program provides daily meals to children when they are not in school. It will use a grab-and-go model to allow children to take their food home.
"We're communicating every day with our partner pantries to communicate any changes that they might have in their distributions," Aramelle Wheeler, Marking and Communications Coordinator for FBNN said.
Meanwhile, staff at the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows are cleaning and disinfecting the building and working on a plan on how to move forward as the threat of the virus looms. It is also helping with other needs within the community.
"Our staff are staying in close contact with the families that go beyond just before or after school care that need help with just basic needs, whether it be clothing or other help through our family programs," Wurm said.
As of now, the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows is closed until March 20.
For more information about the 2020 Kids Cafe Spring Break Meal Service, visit: https://bit.ly/2vwNHVQ
