What do you do when the kids can't come to the club? You take the club to the kids.
Three days a week, that's exactly what's happening in Lockwood this summer.
With the Boys and Girls Clubhouse at the Lockwood school closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, club leaders decided to hit the road.
The "Club on Wheels" has been up and running for a couple of weeks, splitting time between the Hillside Trailer Park and the Lion's Lair Park in Lockwood.
The mobile clubhouse offers kids a variety of arts and crafts, educational activities, and snacks - a welcome break from the boredom of the pandemic.
"At first, we had some kids that looked at us, 'why are these people here?'" said Kenzie Hasiak, Lockwood clubhouse director. "But we had a couple of kids who recognized us right away from club, and they were super, super excited because they haven't been able to go to club since about March. A lot of them have been staying at home, getting pretty bored."
Hasiak and her staff have been brainstorming on ways to interact with club members, and the Club-on-Wheels concept was born.
"It's been really cool to get out in the community more, and help kids that don't always get to go to the clubhouse," Hasiak said. "We've actually had quite a good turnout from people who don't go to the Lockwood clubhouse, so that's been great."
One of the unique things the club staff has come up with is an "activity in a sack" that the kids can take home with them after the van leaves for the day. The sack comes with all the necessary supplies to complete the activity, such as scissors and glue.
Hasiak said the kids also enjoy writing in their journals. Among this week's projects was a "nightlight jar" complete with stickers.
Staff members are also giving away fresh boxes of produce to families in need.
The Club on Wheels is usually set up and ready to go by 10 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday, with afternoon hours on Wednesday and Friday.
Hasiak says as of now, the plan is to keep the mobile clubhouse running for the remainder of the summer.
