The Boys & Girls Club of Hopkinsville-Christian County will have a ribbon cutting next Wednesday, September 18 for the new Cornell Teen Center Renovation and Expansion.
The event will take place at 4:30 at the Walnut Street facility.
The event will provide the community with a tour of the existing center as well as the new 2,000-square-foot FabLab addition.
Executive Director Terrence Davis said the new FabLab will allow teens to learn new skills that can be used in the 21st-century workforce. In addition, it will give them access to 3D Printers, laser cutters, CNC woodworking, screen printing, audio/video production, and podcasting & graphic design.
At a January ribbon cutting, Davis said the opportunity will allow those who utilize the Boys & Girls Club a chance to learn about the business world.
click to download audioThe 4,700 square foot Cornell Teen Center houses three main areas — an eSports Arena with a VR Lounge, a
Coffee Shop, and the FabLab.
Davis also said this project serves in part as a statewide initiative, in which the Kentucky General Assembly quickly learned that through the COVID-19 pandemic, Boys & Girls Clubs across the Commonwealth served as bastions for families in desperate need of food, clothing, household items, laundry services, and learning loss prevention.
In 2022, more than 475 youths were served, and that number jumped above 500 last year. Club members spent more than 143,000 hours on the campus last year, and enjoyed more than 28,560 meals through the efforts of seven full-time staff, seven part-time staff, and 27 board members.
