A colorful collection of handprints covers the wall in the Franklin Boys and Girls Club art room. Handprints of all sizes, from big to small, dot the wall as a reminder that every kid that becomes a member belongs to a diverse community of friends.
Everyday, kids in Franklin who need a hand with homework, character building or making friends, get to hang out at the Franklin Boys and Girls Club after school and during the summer. Members of the club are ages 5-18, and participate in a range of programs, from tutoring in school subjects to on-site groups that talk about dating, bullying, citizenship, and other life subjects.
Denise Carothers has been involved with the Franklin Boys and Girls Club since 1996. She says she read an article in the Review Appeal about how the club needed a leader for a Girl Scout troop, and she was hooked.
“So I just came to find out what it is and went to Girl Scout training, started volunteering once a month and by the fourth year I was here everyday,” Carothers said. “I fell in love with a little seven-year-old girl named Quanisha, and I promised her that I would stay here until she graduated.”
When other kids started asking Carothers if she would stay until they graduated, she just couldn’t resist. Carothers became a staff member in 1999, and now serves as the Area Director for Williamson County, overseeing all club operations for Franklin and Fairview. 
On a school day, members of the Boys and Girls Club are picked up by the FBGC bus and taken straight to fitness time at the Academy Park Gym, then they go to the community building where they eat a little bit, do some homework and hang out.
“We found out if we bring them here to do homework first they can’t concentrate because they’re hungry. So we give them snack and then they go to power hour, which is our homework tutoring program,” Carothers said.
Academy Park Gym is a shared facility run by Williamson County Parks and Recreation. A couple of years ago, the Boys and Girls Club had a gym and a teen center of their own on what is now a battlefield preservation project.
“We were there until 2007, so when we left there to come here that’s what everybody gets confused about,” Carothers said. “We moved in here in 2000, but in 2001 that was a teen center, so we still had that until 2007. We’ve been fortunate that when we had to leave that facility, Williamson County Government and Parks and Rec allowed us to continue using Academy Park. So we still have a gym. We still have a facility so it hasn’t hurt us.” Their space at the Franklin community center is used strictly by the Boys and Girls Club.
As a non-profit organization, there are always many needs to be met. Their new bus still needs a licensed bus driver to work about 4 hours a day and some extra during field trip days. They always accept food donations of individually wrapped snacks, juice boxes, crackers, etc., as well as first aid items such as hand sanitizer, bandages and peroxide. Another need is entertainment, such as board games, ping pong balls and any video games for the Xbox and Wii. Monetary donations are also welcome.
“A lot of our club members, if it weren’t for us, they may not eat on the weekend, particularly in the summertime,” Carothers said.
Volunteers are also a big necessity, especially in the summertime when kids are there from morning until the time when their parents pick them up. Tim Brown, Program Director for the Franklin Boys and Girls Club says male volunteers are vital to their operations.
“A lot of our kids are single family kids with moms being the head of the household,” Brown said. “To see a positive male influence in their life, and be able to ask them questions, and to give them a little bit of motivation is good because they’re not even knowing they’re getting it when they’re just hanging out.”
The Franklin Boys and Girls Club is located in the Franklin Community Center at 129 West Fowlkes St, Suite 1000 in Franklin. Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 1084, Franklin, TN 37064. Tours of the facility and club are available.
On Friday, April 10, the Boys and Girls Club will be revealing a special makeover of two rooms donated by Aaron’s Furniture. They will reveal the new teen hang out room as well as the new tech lab. Plus they are hoping to get a new storage shed to free up some space. The community is invited to the event, which will take place from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
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