The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington is working with the D.C. Council to restore hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to its oldest facility.
Leaders at the Jelleff Recreation Center in Georgetown were shocked to discover its operational budget was zeroed out in Mayor Muriel Bowser’s fiscal 2026 budget.
“Kids come from all eight wards to Jelleff,” said Gabrielle Webster, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington. “Families count on us to be there after school. We really need to be there.”
Webster said she has been in frequent conversation with every council member to get the funding restored.
At stake is $623,000 in operational funding. Webster said if that money isn’t restored, they will be forced to cut some of the most important services.
In addition, a $263,000 grant, typically given by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, was also left out of the budget. These two sources generally provide Jelleff with the funds it needs to operate.
The club serves hundreds of kids every year with transportation services and programming that helps children develop and grow as individuals, according to its website. It also provides tutoring, character-building programs and health and wellness services.
“It’s a safe space, and it’s a space that our kids need,” Webster said. “With all the things going on this world today, wouldn’t it be terrible to take that safe space away from these young people?”
Established in 1931 and originally named the Georgetown Boys Club, the recreation center went through a few iterations before moving to its current location at 3265 S St., NW, according to its website.
Jelleff is about to undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation that will provide facilitywide upgrades to the aging building. When the renovation starts, Jelleff will operate out of the nearby Fillmore School.
Jelleff has an ally in Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto, who said she is working with Council Chair Phil Mendelson to get the funding restored.
“If you think about all of our goals, from public safety to making sure that families have access to resources, the Boys and Girls Club is really achieving so much of that, and it’s so vital that we continue this crucial funding,” Pinto told WTOP.
Pinto said the council will take the first vote on the proposed budget on Monday. She said they will know then if the funding is back in the budget. If not, she said they have two weeks before a second vote to get the funds reprogrammed.
The club has been tangled in budget battles with the D.C. Council in the past, too. In May 2024, the club and some of its young members pushed back when D.C. moved to cut $610,000 in funding. The D.C. Council ended up returning that money to its proposed budget as one time funding.
WTOP has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
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