Community Corner

New Boys & Girls Club Director Returns Home

Renee Gaudette takes over the club where she spent many afternoons when she was growing up.

Article written by Charlie Breitrose.

Growing up, the Watertown Boys & Girls Club was the place to go for Renee Gaudette, who spent many afternoons there playing basketball and taking advantage of other activities. Now she hopes to inspire the same love of the club from today’s Watertown youth.

In March, Gaudette became executive director of the Boys & Girls Club.

Gaudette, who was a star player for the Watertown High School girls basketball team and went on to play in college, said that she got her start at the Boys & Girls Club at the age of 7. She jumped at the opportunity to become the director.

Find out what's happening in Watertownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“My dad called and said (former director) Allen Gallagher is leaving. I said, ‘Wow, that’s big news,’” she recalled. “Then I said, ‘That’s a job I should have!’”

Plans

Find out what's happening in Watertownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She already has plans for the club on Whites Avenue, including upgrading the club’s library.

“Now it is and old school library with books and reading space, but we have plans to offer homework help, and technology that can be used for educational gains,” Gaudette said.

The club serves children ages 7 to 18, but teens are not as likely to come to the club.

After 6 p.m., the clubhouse becomes a drop in center for teens, Gaudette said, and she hopes more will take advantage

Often high school students come to the club to do their community services to meet their graduation requirement. She hopes to make a formal program.

“I want to have three or four students every week through the school year and hopefully they will want to stay because we have cool teen nights after they do their volunteer work,” Gaudette said.

The club also has a gym and a pool, which are used for a number of activities, as well as a game room. The club’s video game tournaments on Fridays are popular, Gaudette said.

Over the summer, the Boys and Girls Club runs week-long summer camps at Hale Reservation in Westwood. 

“Kids come here in the morning and we pick them up and bring them back at the end of the day,” Gaudette said.

The children are gone from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Camps cost $175 a week and run through the end of August.

Biggest Challenge

One of the challenges being director is funding, Gaudette said. Previously she worked for the YMCA. First in Providence, and most recently at the West Suburban YMCA in Newton as director of the summer camps.

The YMCA has a number of revenue streams, Gaudette said, while the Boys and Girls Club relies on fund raising. A year-long membership costs only $25.

The two big annual fund-raising events are the Steven Mugar Golf Tournament in August at the Oakley Country Club, and the Road Race in November.

Gaudette said the activities may draw people to the club, but keeping them is another matter.

“I came here for the staff – to be with caring, trained adults,” Gaudette said. “The pool and gym are nice, but really it’s the people that keep you coming back.”

For more information about the Watertown Boys & Girls Club visit its website at www.watertownbgc.org.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Watertown