In December 1996, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Baldwin County, opened an 11,000-square-foot gymnasium/activities building in Fairhope. This was the first building constructed expressly for the use of the club. On June 26, 1997, that facility was renamed the Rotary Boys & Girls Club. The new name recognized the generosity of the Rotary Clubs of Fairhope and Point Clear, whose contributions would help the organization to retire the construction debt on the facility. The Rotary Club of Fairhope pledged $50,000 over three years, and the Point Clear club (then just a year and half old) donated $15,000. Gifts from numerous individual Rotarians brought the total to about $100,000.

Both clubs continued to support the youth club and tried to justify the use of “Rotary” in its name. In May 2009. The Boys & Girls Club of South Alabama notified the Fairhope Rotary Boys & Girls Club that they would be closing its facility. Due to the large need in our community for this program, the volunteers and staff of the Fairhope Rotary Boys & Girls Club decided to reorganize as the Fairhope–Point Clear Rotary Youth Programs, Inc. (“Rotary Youth Club”).

Our new classroom wing opened in fall 2017 thanks to the generous support of Fairhope Single Tax Corporation, Impact 100 and the City of Fairhope along with other private and corporate donors. The expansion includes a computer lab, three multi-use classrooms, an administrative office, and handicap accessible restrooms. Also in the fall of 2017, the Rotary Youth Club added a Pre-K program which was made possible by the generosity of local donors and grants.

In 2019, an Impact 100 grant allowed us repair our gymnasium. This made our facility safer for our members.

In the spring of 2020, we had to close our after school program due to COVID-19. We continued serving the community by serving lunches to children in need. We also partnered with area churches to provide meals and care packages for the elderly.

We have some huge dreams to help our youth succeed. On the front burner, we want to upgrade our kitchen. By doing so, we could begin a culinary program that would teach our students practical techniques in food preparation they could use at home or on the job. This would enhance their abilities to choose healthy eating selections rather than pre-packaged foods, and possibly prepare them for restaurant or catering positions that would help them earn money to support their families or continue their education.

Another project, is to build a new play ground. Currently, our playground equipment is quite old. In fact, our director played on it as a child. We want to improve the playground to make it more enjoyable for our members and the surrounding community.

Check back to see what big things are happening at the Rotary Youth Club.