Smet Helps Out With The Green Bay Boys & Girls Club
Each day the Green Bay Boys & Girls Club provides a safe place for 750 children at eight different unit locations throughout Green Bay to learn, be inspired and receive guidance through life-changing programs. Recently, the Green Bay Club was selected by the Wallace Foundation, a national research foundation, to begin a world class arts education program known as the Youth Arts Initiative.
The program is the first of its kind to provide arts education in a club setting and involves teaching technical skills to kids in a music and arts education training center. The goal is to prepare kids for today’s digital world and at the same time help them to discover technical career paths that lie in the music and arts industries.
To bring the Youth Arts Initiative to the Green Bay club, some remodeling had to occur. Smet Construction Services stepped up to the plate by assisting in the construction work on a tight timeline that was tied to back-to-school scheduling. The west side club location was remodeled to include an audio recording center and the east side club location was remodeled to include a video training center. Each location has a teacher who provides a structured environment for audio and video learning to occur.
During the recent ribbon –cutting ceremony, Kevin Konkol, Club Director of Operations, thanked Smet Construction and said “We were on a tight timeline and the pace of this project was very fast. Smet really helped us out!” He also said, “Kids have been a big part of the process. They were involved from the beginning.” The kids helped design the lay-out and select materials, colors, and interior finishes. Smet’s Sarah Reese said, “It was fun and exciting to work with the kids. They were high energy and very creative during the brain-storming sessions. It was neat to get them involved in the creation of this space.”
Mayor Jim Schmitt, said, “These are the kids who are our future, here we have an opportunity to connect the kids with a technical and artistic environment and help them to develop overall competency.”
For many years, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Green Bay have been impacting the lives of young people. The new Youth Arts Initiative is just another way to help kids thrive and strive to reach new heights. Smet Construction Services is proud to be a part of this effort in Green Bay.
For more information:
Greg Polacheck Director Market Development Smet Construction Services, Corp. 920-532-3828 [email protected]