United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County opens club site in Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- The United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County opened their doors Monday July 6.

The organization went through a two-week training in preparation to open their club doors for members, according to a news release.

“We wanted to make sure that we were able to operate our clubs in a manner that made the safety of our club members and staff priority number 1,” CEO Michael Baker said.

UBGC and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara on Canon Perdido are merged and operating as one organization.  UBGC decided to open the Canon Perdido as its first site running summer programs. 

“When we decided which club we should open first, it was a no-brainer that we would come back to where it all started for our organization back in 1938.  I absolutely love this club building,” added Baker.

UBGC would like to open more club doors, but with funding being tight due to the canceling of events, they have to start with one club at a time as they look at how they plan to raise money to open the other clubs.

“It will cost us 1.5 million dollars to open all our clubs from August 1- December 31, 2020, and fill them to capacity under the new COVID19 standards,” Baker said.

All Club Directors are leading groups of 10. Members enjoy breakfast and lunch during programming and are required to wear masks the entire day.

As a member arrives, the guardian is asked a CDC health questionnaire.

The temperature of the member is taken and recorded. If the member passes the questionnaire and temperature check, they then are required to wash their hands before heading into the club.

 Each member is required to have their temperature retaken at the end of programming before being picked up.