Children sporting hard hats greeted Edgartown officials and Martha’s Vineyard Boys and Girls Club board members last week as they walked to a field where construction will ensue on their new facility.

At the long-awaited ground breaking ceremony Wednesday, guests struck the ground with blue shovels and shared speeches about how the club has helped Island youth. The new facility will allow the club to increase enrollment by 25 per cent to meet growing demand. 

Norman Rankow.

Ray Ewing

Norman Rankow.

Ray Ewing

“[When] we put shovels in the ground today, we’re doing far more than just beginning construction,” said Norman Rankow, chair of the board of directors. “We are honoring the past, celebrating the present and bringing to life a space that will serve this community for generations to come.”

Barbara-jean Chauvin, the club’s executive director, said the new facility will allow for expanded afterschool programs and an increase in services for tweens and teens.

The new facility will stand behind the tennis courts at the Robinson Road recreation area, just a short walk away from the existing clubhouse. Ms. Chauvin said Pearl Construction will start building after Labor Day. The projected timeline is two years. 

Floor plans by Rescom Architectural Inc. show two multi-purpose rooms, a computer lab, game room, library, art room and a gymnasium with bleachers. There are also office spaces. 

The project cost is $17 million and Ms. Chauvin said the club still has $1 million to raise. Plans passed Martha’s Vineyard Commission review in June.

Federated Church Rev. Mark Winters led Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony with a prayer.

“May [the new facility] be a testimony, especially, for our community’s love for the generations of children who will come through these doors, play on these fields, make friends, be encouraged, taught and fed on these premises,” Reverend Winters said. 

Construction is expected to take two years.

Ray Ewing

Construction is expected to take two years.

Ray Ewing

Gov. Maura Healey issued a citation recognizing the groundbreaking.

“As you celebrate this milestone, we commend your ongoing efforts to provide educational programs, safe recreational spaces and essential mentorship opportunities, directly addressing the needs of the Martha’s Vineyard youth, and fostering a stronger, more vibrant community for generations,” the citation stated. 

Town administrator James Hagerty said he spent thousands of hours at the club when he was a kid. He said places like it are increasingly rare, and the club welcomes any kid, regardless of their background, through its doors.

“The Boys and Girls Club is an inclusive place where it doesn’t matter where you come from [or] how much money you have,” Mr. Hagerty said. 

He thanked town meeting voters for approving easements, appropriations and other access agreements that made the new facility possible.

“This is the will of the people,” Mr. Hagerty said. “They wanted this project to happen, and now it’s going to happen.”

Julia Tarka, a former Boys and Girls Club board vice president who helped shepherd the building project through completion, attended the ceremony while her daughter was playing inside the existing clubhouse. 

“I have the experience of picking up my kid every day with a smile…” Ms. Tarka said. “She’s done Misty Meadows, kayaking, ropes courses. Camp isn’t just in that building, they really use the whole Island.” 

Town administrator James Hagerty talks about his experience with the Boys and Girls Club.

Ray Ewing

Town administrator James Hagerty talks about his experience with the Boys and Girls Club.

Ray Ewing

Ms. Tarka said she’s excited to see the club’s next chapter and the new facility will be transformative for Island kids and the community at-large.  

Ms. Chauvin concluded the ceremony with a poem by James W. Foley entitled The Ripple Effect. 

“Drop a pebble in the water, just a splash, and it is gone. But there’s half a hundred ripples circling on and on and on….” Ms. Chauvin read. “Drop a word of cheer and kindness, in a minute you forget, but there’s gladness still swelling, and there’s joy circling back…”

Ms. Chauvin said for nearly 90 years the club has created a lasting ripple of positive change and she thanked the community for empowering its young people.

“For the thousands of pebbles that have been dropped into the water, the ripples have been endless - from a kind word or smile, to the sharing of lunch or the simple tying of a shoe, we might never know the effect the ripples have had on so many of us,” Ms. Chauvin said.