CIVIC CENTER CAPITAL FUNDS CAMPAIGN CONTINUES

The Cape Girardeau Civic Center is working on a capital campaign to pay off its mortgage, but now that mortgage is held by an anonymous benefactor rather than an Oregon bank.

"A generous benefactor bought the note and is holding it for us," said Tamara Zellars Buck, the center's board president.

The center, which provides free afterschool care and tutoring, recreational activities and a summer day camp to youths, began a capital campaign in February to pay off a $50,000 mortgage on its building at 232 Broadway. The center fell behind in its mortgage payments during an unstable period a few years ago, and an Oregon bank had acquired the loan, setting payment due March 15.

The campaign had raised $8,000 when the local benefactor purchased the loan, giving the center. until Dec. 31 to pay the remaining $41,000. Buck and Civic Center interim director Harry Louis Schuler are speaking before civic clubs, explaining the Civic Center's mission and programs in hopes of gaining financial support.

"We think civic organizations are our best bet," Buck said. "We are visiting them personally to answer any questions about the Civic Center and its future."

There was some mismanagement of the center in the mid-1990s, hurting its image, Buck said.

Board members work with programs, budgeting, applying for grants and getting people re-involved with the center.

"People tell me 'I grew up with the Civic Center,'" Buck said, "but those people aren't involved with it anymore. Our future is getting them volunteering again and getting their children and grandchildren involved with the center."

The center's afterschool program has about 200 children, with a daily attendance of 20 to 25, and Save Our Little Sisters Network, a mentoring program , serves 55 seventh-grade girls, Buck said.

Also holding meetings at the center are Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops and Narcotics Anonymous. And the center has seen an increase in rentals for family reunions, parties and social gatherings, Buck said.

Besides the funding campaign, the center has worked to bring a Boys and Girls Club to Cape Girardeau County. Boys and Girls Clubs of America is a national organization of local clubs that provide social and recreation programs for youth.

Civic Center representatives are part of a task force that includes members from organizations like the United Way, Salvation Army, Community Caring Council, and city officials from Jackson and Cape Girardeau. The task force has been looking into how to begin a Boys and Girls Club here.

"The Boys and Girls Club is a good fit with what the Civic Center does and we want to spearhead the effort to bring one here," Buck said.

The task force must show proof that $100,000 a year can be raised locally for a Boys and Girls Club, which could be one building or a centralized organization with several satellite sites.

Buck said the goal is to obtain a Boys and Girls Club charter for Cape Girardeau County by Dec. 1. If that goal is met, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America have set aside $35,000 in seed money for the local club.

For information about the Boys and Girls Club task force, call Nancy Jernigan at United Way, 334-9634. To contribute to the Civic Center's capital campaign, call the center at 335-7141.