For Frazier Primay School second graders Katera McDonald, 8, and Kameron West, 7, the Boys & Girls Club of the Miss-Lou is a way to escape boredom.

“Before (coming to the boys and girls club) I would just go home, do homework and go outside and play, but sometimes the other kids wouldn’t be outside and I’d be by myself,” McDonald said.

After being with the Boys & Girls Club for almost a year, McDonald said she really likes playing basketball, dancing and doing arts and crafts with the other children.

But her favorite thing about the boys and girls club, McDonald said, is doing her homework.

“We get to do it in groups and the teachers make it really fun.

West said before he came to the boys and girls club he would go home and play basketball on his Nintendo 64.

“I have more fun here, though, because I get to go to the gym and play basketball with other kids,” West said.

McDonald and West are two of about 100 children who come to the center at the Margaret Martin gym after school, Executive Director Faye Minor said.

Minor said much of the money the club receives comes from the Attorney General’s office.

The five clubs in Natchez, one in Vicksburg and the other in Jefferson County all share about $154,000 a year, Minor said.

“To run the average club takes about $50,000 to $60,000 a year,” Minor said.

“Fortunately, overhead costs like utilities are covered by the school district, but it would be nice to get a little more money for other things, too.”

Those other things, Minor said, would be books, computers and other educational materials the center could use to tutor the children after school.

“We would love to have the money to start a library for the club,” Minor said.

Next, the Boys & Girls Club needs more methods of transportation.

Right now, Minor said it costs $800 a month for two Durham school buses to transport just the children from Frazier Primary School.

The center services children six to 18 years old, Minor said.

Minor said the most important thing the center needs is volunteers.

“Every non-profit organization wants money, money, money, but we need bodies,” Minor said.

“I have about 125 first- and second-graders who just need someone to come in for an hour a week and read a story, help them with writing and just basic tutoring.”

To donate money or time to the Boys and Girls Club of the Miss-Lou, call Faye Minor at (601) 304-5548 or visit the boys and girls club at 64 Homochitto St.