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The Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County and the Ely Chapman Education Foundation are scheduled to consolidate services by May 31.

Boards from both organizations met in December and voted unanimously for the change to occur.

Chief Executive Officer of BGCWC Justin Clark and Executive Director of ECEF Andrew Parsons said the boards were excited to meet and discuss options to grow.

“A few days after I became CEO in September, Andrew and I started to discuss further options to combine our services,” said Clark. “We quickly went back to our boards about this possibility and they were all pretty excited.”

Parsons said the merger was designed to maintain the longevity and stability of their services and opportunities.

They said the consolidation will take the services each organization currently has and strengthen them. Those services include arts, academics, food security, and individualized care and will remain prevalent throughout the legal combining of organizations.

The combined services are also expected to expand the capacity for children ages 3-18 with a focus on early-age learning. They said it’ll also open up about 48 new spots for children ages 3-5 to join and receive individualized care.

“This merger is coming from a place of strength from both organizations, we’re both financially sound and have strong leadership and strong boards,” said Clark. “This is how we leverage our combined strengths and families can expect to receive the same high-quality care.”

The ECEF was founded by Alice Chapman who passed away in 2020. The program provided creative and academic afterschool and summer programs for children ages 3-13.

“Alice Chapman’s vision for individualized education and the arts is the heartbeat of this foundation,” said Parsons. “By joining forces with the BGCWC, we are protecting her legacy and giving it the stable, long-term platform it deserves to thrive for generations to come.”

The BGCWC served children ages 5-18 as a way to help them become productive and responsible adults. The services through ECEF will essentially be under the BGCWC umbrella.

“This strategic acquisition honors the meaningful work that Ely Chapman has provided to local youth while positioning our mutual operations for long-term sustainability,” said Clark.

The merger will serve over 1,200 youth throughout communities like Marietta, Belpre, Beverly and New Matamoras.

“It is expected to create some full-time jobs which we’re excited about and it’ll increase wages for our current employees,” said Clark.

They said both boards are confident the merger will provide more opportunities for the community in terms of individualized care, jobs, and services for the underserved.

“We’re not opening new facilities but repurposing the ones we do have,” said Parsons.

The ECEF operations will be provided through the BGCWC and it will be rebranded as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County – Alice Chapman Early Learning Center.

With the combination of organizations, a joint committee was formed which included Clark, Parsons, two board members from both organizations and one member from the community.

They said now that they’re entering the integration phase which will consist of daily operations and planning throughout the winter and spring.

“Our services aren’t going to change, only get stronger so we can better serve our community,” said Parsons.

For more information visit www.bgcwcoh.org