Leaders of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Delta asked Indianola officials Monday to consider partnering with the nonprofit to open a local club that could serve dozens of children each day.
During agenda item 12 of the March 9 meeting, Ward 5 Alderman Rodreigus Young introduced CEO David Dallas and Chief Operating Officer Cameron Abel for a presentation before Mayor Kenneth Featherstone and the Board of Aldermen at the City Hall Annex. Dallas and Abel outlined how a club in Indianola could provide after-school care, summer programming and workforce-readiness training for youth ages 6 to 18.
Dallas said the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Delta currently operates nine clubs across the region and is preparing to open another site in Tutwiler, serving “well over close to 2,000 children a year” on an annual budget of about $1.4 million funded through grants and other sources. He told city officials that Indianola is “a very important community” and that the organization has long been interested in establishing a presence here if local leaders and residents are willing to support it.
“We are an economic driver now,” Dallas said, explaining that parents in other towns rely on the clubs as safe, structured places for their children after school and during the summer while they work. He said Boys & Girls Clubs programs focus on discipline, positive behavior, homework help and nutrition, providing “a place where they belong, a place where they know they can grow.”
To bring a club to Indianola, Dallas said the city and Sunflower County would need to commit annual funding and help secure a suitable site, preferably an underused school facility with access to a gym or cafeteria. Around the Delta, he said, some municipal governments contribute as little as $5,000 a year while others budget $40,000 or more, and some counties dedicate a portion of their millage under a state statute that allows tax support for Boys & Girls Clubs.
Dallas told aldermen that, ideally, the organization’s board would like to see about $150,000 in local support to fully launch a “premiere” club in Indianola, but he stressed that programs have started in other communities for as little as $60,000 when space and in-kind support were available. A robust, full-service operation with certified teachers, small-group instruction and summer programming for up to 150 children can cost around $392,000, he said, funded through a mix of grants, donations and local contributions.
Abel, who has worked in education and school finance, said the clubs’ impact is measured in both academic gains and family stability, recalling a parent who told him she “couldn’t have done it” without the after-school support her children received. He emphasized that each community’s contribution is tracked through average daily attendance and audits so local governments can see how much grant funding flows back into their own club site in the form of staff and services.
If a club is established in Indianola, Dallas said, the organization would hire at least one full-time staff member from the community, with the potential to add more full-time and part-time positions as daily attendance grows beyond 40 or 50 children. He added that Boys & Girls Clubs often create local advisory councils made up of citizens, churches and civic leaders to help raise additional funds and keep programs responsive to neighborhood needs.
City officials questioned how many youth could realistically be served and how the city might carve out room in an already tight budget. Mayor Featherstone said he supports the idea in principle but cautioned that the city must determine “where this money is going to come from” before committing funds to a new program.
Dallas responded that the organization is willing to continue conversations, adjust to what the community can afford and work with school officials if an existing campus can host the program. He noted that Boys & Girls Clubs have operated nationally for more than a century and pointed to long-term studies suggesting every dollar invested in club programs can return several times that amount in reduced juvenile justice costs, improved education outcomes and workforce readiness.
At the close of the discussion, aldermen took no formal action but thanked Dallas and Abel for the presentation and the information they provided. Dallas said the organization remains “very interested” in Indianola and encouraged city officials and residents to review the group’s 2025 impact report and visit bgcmsdelta.org as they weigh whether to move forward with a local partnership.
