Bridgestone grant steers opportunity for local Boys and Girls Clubs

New doors are opening for local kids who visit one of the four local Boys and Girls Clubs of Spokane County locations after the donation of a new van will allow field trips.

Kids can visit a local park, go to a college for a tour or take part in activities outdoors. The possibilities are nearly endless.

“We’re so excited because this just opens the door to all sorts of cool things,” CEO Wendy Drum aid. “This summer we’re definitely going to be using the van a lot of field trips, baseball games.”

Last summer, Drum learned about a grant opportunity from Bridgestone Americas called the Driving Great Futures Initiative, which would provide $50,000 to 12 Boys and Girls Clubs from around the nation to be used to purchase a passenger van. The local Boys and Girls Club locations share a cargo van with no seats and didn’t have a bus or other vehicle that allows field trips.

The goal of the grant program is to help provide enrichment opportunities for students.

“We know that access to after-school activities and resources are fundamental to unlocking the full potential of our young people,” Bridgestone Retail Operations President Marko Ibrahim said in a news release. “We’re honored to help expand opportunities for Boys and Girls Clubs of Spokane County to serve more area kids and teen than ever before.”

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Spokane County offer after-school care and summer programs in north Spokane near the NorthTown Mall, at two locations in Mead and in Spokane Valley.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Spokane County won one of the grants, but Drum said she wasn’t told why her club stood out for the rest, though she suspects the community may have played a role.

“We have wonderful families and wonderful community partners and supporters,” she said. “The way our community comes together and supports us is impactful.”

Once they were notified that they had won, they started looking for a used van. They finally found a 2018 Ford Transit 360XL 15-passenger van that fit the budget.

“It took us a long time to find one at that price point,” she said. “We actually drove all the way to Kalispell, Montana, to get it. It is used, but our partners at Bridgestone are taking very good care of us.”

The van will be maintained at the local Bridgestone shops, which have already provided new tires and a new battery. The van, complete with a wrap that identifies it as a Driving Great Futures van of the Boys and Girls Club, was officially unveiled last week.

The van will carry two adults and 13 children on each trip. Several staff members will be trained in the safety and other requirements needed to become certified to drive so there’s no driver shortage.

“It’s a very long and arduous process, but it’s worth it,” she said.

Since only 13 kids can ride in the van at a time, they will be split into groups for field trips, with different groups going on different days. Drum said students are already divided into cohorts based on their age and grade level, so it will be easy to do smaller groups at a time.

“Everybody gets the same opportunities, it will just be split up,” she said.

Drum and the students in the Boys and Girls Clubs are looking forward to going on field trips around the area.

“It’s going to be exciting,” she said. “We’re ready to use it.”