Welcome to the club

Andrew Glazer

WEST SIDE -- The new director of one of the county’s poorest Boys and

Girls clubs is poised to start raising money.

“It’s really hard though, when you don’t have the essentials,” said David

Lewis, who scrambles from writing grants to helping children with word

problems to listening to a girl appeal her 20-minute “time out” sentence.

When Lewis became director of the after-school program on Hamilton Street

in December, there were only two tutors to help more than 130 children

with their homework. Four other employees supervise the 6- to

14-year-olds as they play bumper pool, watch Nickelodeon and practice

math and spelling skills in the computer lab.

The center has no photocopier to copy work sheets for homework practice,

but a local copy store donated credit for 4,000 copies. The club has no

fax machine. And Lewis had to bring his own computer to his tiny office

for grant writing.

“If we had a club that had everything, it wouldn’t be a challenge,” he

said. “But starting with nothing, it gives us a lot of satisfaction.”

Right now, the goal is to raise between $50,000 and $70,000 this year

through grants and community donations, Lewis said. In the past, he said

the club has only raised about $2,000 a year.

Lewis said the club’s East Side, Newport Beach and Irvine counterparts

are able to provide more programs and basic supplies, such as crayons and

paper, to the children who use their facilities. Part of the reason is

because parents of children using those clubs have more money to donate.

The West Side club’s greatest revenue sources are its candy and snack

machines, which produce approximately $20 a week, Lewis said.

But he said the simple services the West Side club does offer -- tutors,

quiet study space, toys, and organized sports -- are essential for the

neighborhood.

“Most of our kids are considered at-risk,” he said. “They need a safe,

structured environment.”

Thursday afternoon, Dillon Derr, 8, and Meshach Simon, 8, helped Gabby

Reitmaier, 6, with her arithmetic at a table in the club’s homework room.

Meshach’s legs were tangled in a pretzel beneath him.

“That’s really good,” he told Gabby after she completed a problem. “And

you’re only in first grade!”

Gabby stared demurely at her work sheet.

“Yeah, you’re really doing good work,” said Dillon, wearing a bright red

hockey jersey.

Dillon lives with his family in a cramped motel room in Costa Mesa. He

said he goes to the club every day after school.

“I like to play games here like house, tennis and Legos,” he said. “And I

don’t mind doing homework. I like it.”

Lewis said his first priority is to raise funds for school supplies,

books, pens and paper. But he said he is also trying to raise money to

rent the neighboring Costa Mesa Playhouse for the children to rehearse

and perform plays.

“We try to give them experiences they weren’t exposed to before,” he

said. “We want to open their eyes. Maybe we have the next Brad Pitt.”