'Ewa Beach club has new home
By Scott Ishikawa
Central O'ahu Writer
'EWA BEACH — With all the latest amenities that come with the new 'Ewa Beach Boys and Girls clubhouse — pool tables, arcade video games, indoor gymnasium — 14-year-old Zachary Kihewa had no trouble picking out his favorite.
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"The air conditioning," said Kihewa, who has been part of the Boys and Girls Club the past six years. "It's so much cooler inside now."
From top, Chad Pantohan, Nicholas Peppers and Janel Alarcon study after school at the new 'Ewa Beach Boys and Girls Club next to 'Ilima Intermediate School.
Twelve years after the 'Ewa Beach Boys and Girls Club was founded in a small school classroom, a grand opening celebration will be held March 22 for the new $2.7 million center.
No more sweltering afternoons inside a tent-like structure or on the outside playcourts. No more moving and sharing space with other organizations because of a lack of a permanent facility.
More importantly, the new building along Fort Weaver Road next to 'Ilima Intermediate School provides a permanent place for children to play and study after school.
"It keeps the kids busy and off the streets," said 'Ewa Beach Boys and Girls Club executive director Frances Rivero, who has pushed for the permanent facility since being hired by the organization in 1991. "With 'Ewa Beach being a distance away from the other communities, this area needs this type of center."
• What: 'Ewa Beach Boys and Girls Club • Where: 91-884 Fort Weaver Road next to 'Ilima Intermediate School • Fees: The club charges a $10 annual membership • Information: 689-4182
"It gives the younger kids a place to go, away from drugs and trouble," said 12-year-old Sandy Valdez. "The club has been like a second home to a lot of us."
At a glance
The two-story, 26,000-square-foot center is six times as large as the tent warehouse the club previously occupied. The additional space provides a place for teenagers upstairs, while the younger children occupy the ground floor.
"We added the teen center because we wanted to attract that age group," Rivero said. "I think teens felt the Boys and Girls Club was more for younger kids, and we wanted to give them their own hangout."
The center's multi-purpose gym will have its playing surface installed next month. The area will include a weight room and portable stage for performances and assemblies.
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The facility also includes a computer lab/study room for students to do their schoolwork, as well as a separate room for dance/hula classes. The Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawai'i also has an office there focusing on teenage girls.
The 'Ewa Beach Boys and Girls Club will hold an open house March 22.
The clubhouse even has a lemonade stand feel to it, with a snack bar and service window, with all food proceeds going to help pay for operating costs.
The building will be given the Hawaiian name "Hale Pono," (House of Gathering) as requested by Muriel Flanders, granddaughter of landowner James Campbell. Flanders kicked off the fund-raising drive to build the center by donating $500,000, with the Campbell Foundation and Estate donating an additional $175,000.
"Our idea was to name it 'Muriel's House,' but (Muriel) felt the name would be too feminine for boys," Rivero said.
Since the center opened for the children in January, active enrollment at the clubhouse is up from 50 kids to about 75. When the playcourt surface is ready for basketball and volleyball next month, that number will probably double, she said.
The hustle and bustle of children playing has Rivero occasionally closing her office door to take phone calls.
"It gets a little loud and hectic at times," Rivero said with a smile. "But I can't complain; it's a good kind of busyness."
Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
