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NATCHEZ — More than a decade ago, over 200 children were enrolled in a Natchez chapter of the Boys and Girls Club and attended regular programming in the former Margaret Martin school.

Financial decline eventually led to its closure, but now local leaders once affiliated with the club want to bring it back.

At a meeting of the Natchez Adams School District Board of Trustees last month, Greg West presented a letter from Marcus Pittman, Chief Executive Officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Mississippi based in McComb, stating that its board of directors have a “firm interest” in establishing a new club in Natchez Adams School District and lease the former Robert Lewis Middle School to operate out of.

West said he found his life’s calling working in the Natchez Boys and Girls Club as a unit director. After working odd jobs since the closing of the International Paper mill in 2003, he earned a general studies degree and started working at the Boys and Girls Club as a unit director around 2007 under the leadership of Faye Minor. From there, he earned his license to drive a school bus and has been doing that ever since.

Before Thanksgiving in 2023, one morning before he got out of bed, West said the thought came to him that a Boys and Girls Club should be brought back to Natchez and that he should be the one to do it. 

“It wasn’t my vision to bring it back. It’s something God gave me to pursue,” West said. 

He called the McComb office to set the wheels in motion. 

“In order to start one, you have to partner with one that’s already existing,” he said. “We’re taking the steps now. … If (the school board) approves of us leasing the building, the next step would be to set up a board for the local unit and then raise the finances.”

While it didn’t take any action on the matter, the Natchez Adams School District Board of Trustees was supportive of having a Boys and Girls Club.

The school board’s vice president Phillip West, who as a state representative was involved with the establishment of the Natchez Boys and Girls Club chapter around the year 2000, said some of the positive effects of having it were a reduction in crime and a boosted sense of community pride. 

“It has a proven track record,” added school board member Diane Bunch. 

West and Pittman also expressed this interest in establishing a local Boys and Girls Club to the Natchez Board of Aldermen during its March meeting.

Pittman said the first Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Mississippi opened in 1990 and has been very successful at fulfilling its mission, which is to “enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.”

Boys and Girls Clubs offer an array of resources to children that help in the core areas of character and leadership development; education and career development; health and life skills; the arts; sports, fitness and recreation. 

While many may have expressed interest in establishing a club, few ever follow through with additional phone calls as West has, Pittman said. 

“(West) has been doing a lot of work here in Natchez to see this come to pass and I truly thank him for that,” he said. “I’ve seen it change lives. … We’re excited to bring this great program to Natchez.”

City officials were vocally supportive of the Boys and Girls Club as well. 

“We can definitely be a team in helping you make this a reality,” Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson said. 

Alderwoman Felicia Irving added, “That’s what our youth need. That’s what we all need.”