Grantsville Boys and Girls Club opened a year ago with six members. A year later membership has climbed to 64 and the program shows no signs of slowing down.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday after school, a white van pulls up to Willow and Grantsville elementary schools. The driver fills the van with students, then drives them to a small metal-frame building behind City Hall in Grantsville. The process is repeated until 30 children have been delivered to the Grantsville Boys and Girls Club.

The club offers programs at the Grantsville Community/Recreation Center. The club opened its doors in January 2006 with the assistance of a $36,000 two-year grant from the United Way of Salt Lake aimed at strengthening youth and families.

"The programs offered at Boys and Girls Club helps youth succeed in school, build leadership skills, and prepare for life," said Darlene Dixon, area director for Tooele County with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salt Lake.

Heather Osborn is the site coordinator for the Grantsville Club. She has been with Boys and Girls Club for two years, and previously worked at the Tooele Teen Center.

The programs offered at the Grantsville club are aimed at after-school hours for elementary students. In Utah, 23 percent of school-aged children will spend some portion of the after-school hours taking care of themselves, according to the Afterschool Alliance, a national consortium of non-profit organizations that advocates for after-school programs. Juvenile crime triples from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., according to Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national non-profit organization that works to reduce youth crime and violence. During those hours, youth are more likely to be involved in crime as a participant or victim, try cigarettes and experiment with other drugs, engage in sexual activity, and get hooked on violent video games.

An afternoon at Grantsville's Boys and Girls Club starts with students working with tutors on homework. Afterwards, students engage in projects in the art and sciences, sports, community service projects and leadership training.

The club gives kids a chance to interact in a safe place after school, said Jill Gardner, mother of one of the Grantsville club members.

"They get their homework done and stay active," she said. "If they went home they wouldn't be as active."

The Boys and Girls Club opened a similar program in Tooele five years ago with 18 youth, said Dixon. That program today serves 700 regular club members and 2,000 youth through outreach programs. The Tooele Boys and Girls Club operates out of the Dow James Building, and runs a separate teen center on Seventh Street.

"The Grantsville Club has the same potential for growth, all we need is more space," said Dixon.

Dixon's dream is to build new clubhouses in both Tooele and Grantsville, but she doesn't see that happening anytime soon.

"Right now, I would settle for one nice new facility that could serve both communities, built with donations from local businesses and caring citizens," said Dixon.

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com