NATCHEZ &045; Youth will soon be typing away once again in the former Sadie V. Thompson High School on North Union Street, thanks to a grant recently received by the Boys & Girls Club.

On average, 125 to 150 children frequent the Boys & Girls Club of Miss-Lou on summer days. There, they attend karate classes or anti-alcohol programs, taking day trips or using the resource center, which houses computers, videos and books.

And before long, the resource center will house an extra 10 computers in addition to the four existing ones, all because of a $25,000 technology grant the club received June 23 from the Beaumont Foundation.

&uot;They’re really anxious for us to get the Internet,&uot; said Matilda Stephens, director of development at the club and writer of the grant proposal.

Stephens said that most funding goes to fixing up the building, which is aging and has few air-conditioned rooms, and technology normally gets pushed back.

Not this time.

Not only did the club receive the 10 laptops, but also four digital cameras, a color printer and an LCD projector.

The Beaumont Foundation offered 1,600 individual, school and community grants covering 21 states and Washington, D.C. out of more than 8,500 applicants, and 17 of those awards landed in Mississippi. Because of the volume of applicants, additional awards could be given in September.

Stephens said the club will use the ClubTech program that is used in Boys & Girls clubs around the nation to teach members computer skills.

&uot;The computer program teaches not just basic computer skills but everything from digital photography to moviemaking,&uot; Stephens said. &uot;The ClubTech program is very structured as to what the kids can access online.&uot;

The technology grant is not the only way the club is growing. The club has been opened just over a year yet the donations abound.

Three of the existing computers were donated by Natchez Regional Medical Center when it upgraded its computers. In addition, a local resident upgraded his computer and donated the old one to the club.

Another local resident has committed to help the center get DSL for the new technology center if the grant does not provide enough funding to do so.

&uot;We are really excited about the grant and grateful for the community support,&uot; Stephens said.

In turn, the club provides services for other organizations in the community aside from providing a place for children to go.

Currently, the club is working to make its technology and classrooms available to people served by the state Department of Human Services and Families First. Stephens included all of these plans in the grant proposal.

&uot;We were looking at it as more of a community project than a Boys & Girls Club project,&uot; Stephens said. &uot;We basically told them if we got the grant, we would try to establish a partnership.&uot;

Despite the grant, the club still needs donations &045; including more computer equipment &045; since its enrollment is expected to grow even further.

Stephens said the club still would like to put computers in another two or three rooms including classrooms and the library.

&uot;We try to teach the kids to use the computer for what they would use the library for,&uot; Stephens said. &uot;They’ll realize that’s a resource like the library is.&uot;

Not every computer must access the Internet, but all must have word processing capabilities, since many students need to type papers for school. &uot;A lot of kids don’t have this access at home,&uot; Stephens said.

That is why she said the center is open from 3 to 7 p.m. on weekdays and opens every other Saturday for the children.

The club relies on donations and grants for funding. It received two additional grants in two weeks and will use those funds to expand the tutorial program to be able to provide one tutor for every grade.

&uot;We’ve been really blessed,&uot; Stephens said. &uot;It really feels like the club is starting to take off.&uot;