REDMOND, OR -- The Boys and Girls Clubs of Redmond/Terrebonne is expanding, with plans to open an extension at Lynch Elementary right across the street from the main club.

"We are averaging now about 100 kids a day after school, if you include the teens. And, what we do know is that about half those kids come from Lynch. Lynch was looking to provide some after-school tutoring help through their Title I program, two days a week. We sat down to discuss how we might be able to serve kids five days a week, instead of just the two days a week that they can provide; that they have the funding for," Executive Director Jenny O'Keefe tells KBND News. "And that opens up 50 additional spots in our existing building, to get all those kids off the waiting list. And, here’s the kicker: we bought a school bus. So now we can include the Tom McCall kids and even the Terrebonne kids. We can head up there and pick up the kids and fill up our building by partnering with the school district."

O'Keefe says the 78-passenger bus purchased from the school district is a great step in restoring service to Terrebonne. The Terrebonne School site shut down October 30 due to rising facility repair costs, and she says families have been asking how kids can stay involved.

"So, there are a lot of pieces we still need to put together," says O'Keefe. "We need to get our staff CDL trained with their passenger endorsements; we need to train them to drive a school bus, so we know everybody is safe; and, we need to do the hiring piece. And, of course, we still need to do the fundraising because adding more kids to the building doesn’t add profit, it adds more liability."

O'Keefe expects the Lynch site and bus service to begin in January, once training and licensing is complete.