Wakeman Boys & Girls Club, established in 1911, provides programs for children in grades 1 through 12 in the following core areas: sports, fitness and recreation, the arts, education and career development, character and leadership development, and health and life skills.
Wakeman's facility, at 385 Center St. in the town's Southport neighborhood, includes two gymnasiums, basketball courts, game room, weight room, community meeting room, technology center, arts studio, multi-purpose room, athletic field, play gym and outdoor basketball and tennis courts.
Wakeman Boys & Girls Club states that its mission is to enhance the physical, social and emotional development of area youth through programs that perpetuate sound citizenship.
Membership fees in spring 2010 were $25 a year for first- and second-graders; $65 a year for children in grades 3 through 12, with a ceiling of $195 per family; $40 for college students, which allows them to use the facility when they are on break, during the summer and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. when school is in session from September to June; and $175 for adults, which allows them to use the facility throughout the year, but from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on days when school is in session from September to June.
Memberships are for the program year, which runs from Sept.1 through Aug. 31.
In the fall of 2003, Wakeman's opened a satellite clubhouse in First Presbyterian Church, 2475 Easton Turnpike in Fairfield, and Wakeman's also has an outreach program with McKinley School, where Wakeman volunteers help elementary school students with homework and hold recreational events.
Wakeman's, a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, has more than 3,400 members.