The Boys Club of Leflore County is no longer charging a membership fee and is now free to the community, Executive Director George Lampley said.
Although the fee was lifted in July, "we were at capacity in the summer," Lampley said.
When school is in session, many kids are involved in school sports and the club's numbers decrease, creating openings for new members, Lampley said.
In July the Boys Club served more than 900 kids, or about 65 a day, Lampley said.
In their small facility, that's quite a squeeze, he said.
The club efficiently fits an indoor area with pool tables, a small study room and a computer room split into an arts room within a building the size of a small restaurant.
A basketball pavilion and several acres of land for softball, football and other games are outside.
The facility was built in 1976 and looks like it hasn't been updated much since.
The Leflore County Boys Club is a privately owned nonprofit organization supported mainly by Staplcotn and Viking Range Corp. Corporate contributors make the Boys Club possible, Lampley said.
When Lampley saw that most of his members checked out at noon for the free lunch program at a nearby school, he did some research.
He found that only a quarter of the children could afford the $25 per year membership fee.
Even though the club constantly operates on a shoe-string budget, the club's board approved Lampley's proposal to drop the fee, he said.
