It’s summer in the Burns-Hines area, which means the kids are on the loose from school.

With the help of our community, the county’s youth will have a completely new Kids Club of Harney County at Geno’s Youth Center by the end of next summer. A fundraising campaign is underway to raise $30,000 to help bring this beautiful and much-needed center to life.

Construction is underway
Geno’s Youth Center has broken ground! You may have noticed the construction activity at the corner of Washington and Birch streets, connected to Geno’s Gym.

Geno’s Youth Center is a testament of love from the Timms family in honor of the late Eugene “Geno” Timms — a native of Burns and longtime Oregon state senator. The Youth Center addresses the severe space limitations of the Kids Club of Harney County at its current location, providing room for far more services and youth.

The $4.5 million endeavor has been underway for a handful of years. To make fundraising manageable, the project was divided into two phases. The first phase was the building of the 9,600-square-foot Geno’s Gym. With a $1.7 million price tag, the gym was completed in October 2020.

The Ford Family Trust, MJ Murdock Foundation, Swindell’s Foundation, Collins Foundation, Timms family, and other private donations fueled the building of Geno’s Gym.

The final phase is the building of Geno’s Youth Center at Kids Club of Harney County, with a cost of $2.8 million.

Ultimately, Geno’s Youth Center (home of the Harney County Kids Club) will meet an important local need by providing quality youth programs for Harney County youth of all ages. So far, $2.4 million has been raised in this final phase — thanks to a private donation, donations from the Timms family and the Harney County Court, a $1 million-plus grant from the state of Oregon, and generous support from the MJ Murdock Foundation, Kelly Family Foundation, and the JTMF Foundation.

How you can help
A local campaign is underway called the $30,000 100 Envelope Challenge. Stop by the Harney County Chamber of Commerce to see the display and pick up your challenge envelope. When you return the envelope, its content should match the dollar amount on the card.

Envelopes begin at $6 and increase to the highest amount of $600. When all the envelopes have been filled, the $30,000 goal will be reached. Every dollar counts, and all community members have the opportunity to help build our first new youth facility since the high school was built in 1959. You can gather funds from family members and make a family donation. You can donate in memory of a loved one, or donate as an organization. Each donor will be recognized and displayed in the new facility. It is important for foundations to see that our community is invested in our organization by financially supporting our project.

About Kids Club of Harney County
Kids Club of Harney County is currently the only year-round, youth-serving organization offering out-of-school enrichment programs for kindergarten through fifth grades in Harney County. Kids Club also provides Camp Kids Club Summer Programming, Art Camp, Science Academy, Running Club, Outdoor School, SELCO’s Homework Heroes, and a variety of community-based physical activities at Geno’s Gym.