METHUEN - Kathi Ingram spends close to $600 a month for a private after-school program for her two children.

Ingram, a single mother, has a well-paying full-time job, but juggling rent, utility bills and child-care costs leaves her scraping by each month.

Plenty of other Methuen parents, single and married, struggle similarly, Ingram says. That's why she has become the driving force behind an effort to bring the Boys and Girls Club to the city.

Ingram and other parents are hosting a meeting Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. at City Hall to discuss this idea. Parents are invited to learn more from speakers, including a representative from the Newton Boys and Girls Club, as well as offer their own input. Ingram also is looking for residents to serve on a steering committee to lead the project.

"The objective is to give these kids somewhere to go," Ingram said. "We don't want children to fall through the cracks and be on the street at 4 p.m. every day. It's not the parents' fault they have to work. They shouldn't be punished for it. Their children need a place to go."

The Boys and Girls Club is a highly affordable program funded through corporate and individual donors. In Lawrence, membership to the Boys and Girls Club costs just $20 per year, and that covers everything - including after-school programs.

Ingram's goal is to form a Methuen subsidiary of the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club, a program that serves 600 children every day in a new $8.5 million facility.

She's been in touch with a regional Boys and Girls Club director, who helps connect communities to existing clubs, as well as meeting with Lawrence club officials.

Markus Fischer, executive director of the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club, said the nonprofit will consider a plan to help build a program in Methuen.

"There is no question there are kids in Methuen who could benefit from a program like that," Fischer said. "There is always a need. The question is, can it be feasible and operate on a long-term basis?"

Ingram wants the steering committee to draft a business plan to pitch to the Lawrence club's board of directors. Tenney Grammar School Principal Jim Giuca has offered to let Ingram use the school to host the club at no charge.

"We won't have a huge facility, but we'll have access to the gym, computers and a homework area," Ingram said. "It's a way to get started. The structure (of the Boys and Girls Club) is ready to go. To get started we just have to get people there and then follow their rules."

They also need money, about $250,000, Ingram estimates.

Before the Lawrence club would consider accepting the Methuen club as a subsidiary, parents backing the project would need to prove that the program can sustain itself and be financially independent from the Lawrence club.

"The key is to put together a comprehensive and thorough plan that includes funding sources and support," Fischer said. "That's the base. Once that part is worked through, the other stuff will follow."

While the Lawrence program charges children just $20 annually, the cost to the club per child averages about $1,000, Fischer said. Even for this well-established club, fundraising is a challenge.

"That money has to be secured somewhere," Fischer said. "We have some very generous individuals, but it is still a battle every year to balance the budget."

Ingram hopes to reach out to corporations, local business and individuals, as well as securing grants for the project. But funding is tight already.

Groups like the Merrimack Valley YMCA and the Methuen Arlington Neighborhood Center, which provide a variety of after school-programs, lost grant money this year.

Ingram said the YMCA is too expensive for most Methuen parents, because it charges fees for all its programs. The Methuen Arlington Neighborhood Center offers many programs for free, but it is targeted to the city's poorest families and restricted to residents of the Arlington Neighborhood, a 12-block area of the city near the Lawrence line.

"The main objective is to serve all the children in the city," Ingram said. "We really need these types of programs."

YMCA President Steve Ives said the YMCA is interested in being a part of the Boys and Girls Club discussion.

"There is a misconception of the Y. The YMCA won't turn anybody away because of inability to pay," Ives said.

"Every community should have what it needs. I think the world of what these other agencies do," he added. "My only hope is that whatever happens, that the Y be included as a planner, partner and collaborator."

Bryan Chase, a married father of three in Methuen, said he wants his 6-year-old son to have a place to go after school to interact with other children.

"We need to fill up that time (after school) and have a way to challenge kids in a positive direction that's not going to cost families a lot of money," Chase said. "The Boys and Girls Club is a real established program that works with the community."

Full text available at The Eagle-Tribune.