Mercer County club makes differences in youth’s lives

Since 1937, the Boys & Girls Club of Mercer County has provided young people in Trenton and the surrounding towns a safe haven with various programs, sports, and activities.

"Our mission is to help youth, especially those who need us the most, to reach their full potential as productive and caring and responsible citizens," said David Anderson, President and CEO.

The club caters to more than 2,300 youths, who utilize eight facilities around the Greater Mercer County area.

Anderson said they offer your standard sports and after-school programs to provide different recreational activities.

"But, we also focus a lot on career and educational programs, character development and leadership programs," he explained.

This includes constant striving to help boost high school graduation rates, mentoring relationships, and Job-Ready programs.

"We tend to want to focus a lot of our programming around middle school and high school kids, when kids are at the most risk of making decisions that change their lives," Anderson said.

A major initiative in the works for the club is the construction of a new state-of-the-art facility in Lawrence Township, which is set to open in September 2015. The building will feature a gymnasium, teen and technology centers, a game room, and classrooms.

It will also allow them to make their college and career preparation programs available to more local youths, and offer a host of vocational and technical career tracks for non college-bound teens.

"That new facility will kind-of be like a community college for high school students," Anderson said.

Locally, Coleman Subaru is continuing their work devoted to serving the charity.

For 2014, the car dealership has chosen the Boys & Girls Club of Mercer County as their preferred local charity. Their late founder even served on the club's board for many years.

Through January 2, 2015, Subaru of America will donate $250 for every new Subaru sold at Coleman Subaru to local charities as part of the Share the Love event.

Learn more about the ongoing efforts of this great New Jersey charity by visiting the Boys & Girls Club of Mercer County website and Facebook page.