Oceanside CA— A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Tuesday for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oceanside (BGCO) new project, ‘The Center for Innovation’. The 2,000 square foot addition will include a Culinary Arts Teaching Kitchen, a Performing Arts Center and a STREAM(Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Arts and Math) Lab.
“Too many young people don’t have the opportunity to go into great careers like culinary arts, hospitality, automotive, agricultural. People that work with their hands. These are really good paying jobs,” said State Assembly-member Rocky Chavez (R-California, Oceanside).” Our education system is geared more to everyone being a doctor or a lawyer. Facilities like this will funnel young people into those activities.” Assembly-member Chavez said the time is right for these skills to be taught with the new hotels being built in the area and a need for people with hospitality and culinary skills.

The Culinary Arts Teaching Kitchen will give teens a place to learn marketable job skills and valuable life skills. In addition, this state-of-the-art facility will provide a training ground for at-risk youth to learn culinary and hospitality skills.
The Performing Arts Center will provide a dedicated space for youth and ROAD’s members to engage in music, drama and dance programs, including rehearsal and performance space. It will be a place where they can explore and create, providing them a stepping stone to further high school arts education.
The STREAM Lab will be an interactive facility in which our youth can experiment, try, fail and learn important problem solving skills that will serve them throughout their lives.
“It is because of the hard work and commitment by our Board of Directors, community partners and supporters that all of these kids will have the opportunities that this Center for Innovation has to offer,” said Boys and Girls Club of Oceanside CEO, Jodi Diamond. “We want all of our members to receive skills they never would have received had they not entered our doors.”