The Boys and Girls Club of Seymour will be receiving funding from First Financial Bank and the First Financial Foundation through the foundation’s 2021 annual grant campaign.

On Dec. 14, First Financial announced it was awarding $37,400 in grants for three southeast Indiana organizations that are helping the company enhance and develop the communities in which it does business.

The grant campaign is benefiting more than 60 organizations throughout the bank’s four-state footprint of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.

“This campaign is an outstanding example of our intent to be a positive influence and to help our clients and communities thrive,” said Archie Brown, president and chief executive officer of First Financial Bank. “Our support for these organizations will lift our cities and towns and help our neighbors grow and prosper.”

The campaign places a particular focus on low-income communities with funding priorities in neighborhood development, workforce development and education and culture and the arts.

Outside funding for this campaign was provided by CREA, a low-income housing tax credit organization, and Ohio Capital Impact Corp., which funds programs specifically targeted to benefit residents and neighborhoods with affordable housing.

In southeast Indiana, the grant will be divided between the Boys and Girls Club of Seymour, the Southeastern Indiana Economic Opportunity Corp. and the Batesville Area Resource Center.

Ryon Wheeler, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Seymour, said they will receive around $13,000 for their portion of the grant, which will go to support their teen program.

“It is one of the pillars the board is focusing on as a part of our strategic plan, so we are focusing on teens,” Wheeler said. “It’s our junior staff who is mentoring college prep and the Stay Smart programs, so they focus on what they need to be job-ready.”

Wheeler said the program also focuses on personal accounting, time management, responsibility, respectful communication and interview skills, and some of the kids will get interview attire so they’ll be prepared for job interviews.

“We are going to have a college prep night on Jan. 26 in conjunction with Jackson County Learning Center, and it’s open to anybody and not just Boys and Girls Club members,” he said. “This is for any parent or family member who’s wondering what they have to do for college.”

Wheeler said it will help families understand financial aid forms and what goes into exploring college so those parents who didn’t go to a postsecondary school can have an opportunity to learn more about it.

“Then our Stay Smart program is a small group program, but it’s really working on responsible decision-making, avoiding alcohol and tobacco and things like that,” he said. “We focus on those basic skills, and it’s a Boys and Girls Clubs of America program.”

Wheeler said the Boys and Girls Club has grown tremendously during the COVID-19 pandemic due to funding opportunities.

“Before COVID, we were just a single unit here in Seymour, and now, we’re in Brownstown, Jennings County, Seymour and we’re opening up a new site at Country Squire Lakes (North Vernon) in January,” he said.