photos by Breanna Denney/Nevada Sagebrush
For one weekend each July, the small farming community of Yerington, Nev. sees its population nearly quintuple in size from just 3,000 to more than 15,000 people.
Travellers come from all over the west coast and even farther to spend their weekend enjoying country music and a camping experience that can only be characterized as a patriotic, country-themed Burning Man. This popular music festival in the heart of rural Nevada is aptly named, “Night in the Country.”
Night in the Country is the largest and most successful fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley, which is comprised of clubs in Yerington, Silver Springs and Dayton. Having raised more than $400,000 in 2013, the festival allows the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley to maximize the number of young people they serve in these rural communities.
“With Night in the Country raising nearly one third of our annual budget – we don’t have to say ‘no’ to any student that walks through our doors,” said Nick Beaton, the Public Relations Coordinator for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley.
While many students can afford the $10 annual membership fee, some families are unable to pay. The profits from Night in the Country ensure that these students will not be turned away for any financial reasons.
It is important to the staff of the Boys & Girls Clubs to never turn a student away because, many times, this is the only opportunity for the young people to receive essential care.
In 2013 alone, the Clubs provided 59,130 free meals to students ranging from ages 4 to 18. This is the only program of its kind in Mason Valley which results in nearly 350 students attending at least one of the Clubs each day.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley enrich the lives of the students in ways that their families may not be able to provide. Due to the rural nature of the towns that comprise Mason Valley, many parents must travel out of the community to maintain a steady job.
“We are a ‘bedroom community’ so there are not a lot of jobs in the area,” said Sarah Rose, the Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley’s Dayton site. “Moms and dads and grandmas and whoever the caregivers are often travel to Carson and Reno and the surrounding area. That means they’re getting home late and don’t have time to help the child with things like homework. The responsibility to take care of things like that may sometimes fall on that 7-year-old boy or girl.”
Rose uses her role at the Club’s Dayton site to motivate students to become more academically engaged. It can be difficult for parents to stay on top of their child’s schoolwork after a busy work day; for this reason, the Boys & Girls Club uses the time with students to motivate them to succeed.
“One of our best programs is called ‘Power Hour,’” Rose said. “Power hour is a homework time where we can help (the students) in whatever area they need a little bit more help with. We also let the older students tutor the younger students.”
She believes this program not only helps these young people academically but also teaches them important life skills about taking initiative and responsibility over their own lives. When students take the opportunity to tutor others, they begin to appreciate the value of helping their peers reach their own potential.
“I used to be really bad at school until I went to Boys & Girls Club,” said Makayla Boesen, 12, a member of the Boys & Girls Club in Yerington.
Boesen initially lagged behind in school until attending the Boys & Girls Club. She now excels in some of the most difficult subjects, including math.
“I have helped other kids with their math because they weren’t so good at it but I was good at it,” she said.
Her eyes lit up as she spoke about her experience with the Boys & Girls Club because for someone like Boesen, the community at the Clubs means more than just homework help.
“The people at the club are there for you and you can trust them,” she said. “It just makes you feel like you’re at home.”
Lessly Soriano is the “Pee Wee Room” coordinator at the Boys & Girls Club in Yerington and she believes this feeling of community stems from the invaluable lessons that the students learn when engaging in different activities.
She spoke about an activity she calls the cracker project. Students are given various crackers from saltines to cinnamon and everything in between. The students then discuss the variances between the crackers only to come to the ultimate realization that, despite the differences, they are all just crackers.
“It’s something that shows the kids that even if they are different, everyone has feelings and we should treat other people the way that we would want to be treated,” Soriano said.
She expressed that, while some of these lessons seem intuitive to adults, these students may not otherwise learn these basic lessons if it were not for the Boys & Girls Club. Due to the ethnic and cultural diversity in rural Nevada, the Clubs serve as a way for all kinds of students to come together in a community.
“I like seeing how it’s not just 6-year-olds playing with 6-year-olds,” Soriano said. “You’ll see 12-year-olds playing with the 6-year-olds sometimes. They all get along as long as they all have something to engage in, something together. We really feel like a family here.”
Rose and Soriano continuously made the point that the success of these programs relies largely on the success of Night in the Country. The festival is the most profitable of the three major fundraisers that are held throughout the year by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley. It is thanks to the success of the concert that program directors are able to make the experience as engaging as possible for all of the students.
“We can create programs that are based of the kids’ interests,” Rose said. “If the kids are interested in robotics or science, thanks to Night in the Country, we can buy the materials for robotics. We don’t have to scale back on supplies anymore.”
Both women further expressed that they would not even have jobs if it were not for the profits raised during Night in the Country. For the students and staff involved in the Boys & Girls Club community, it is more than just a country concert; it is a promise for a better community.
“There is an opportunity for every child to be a leader at the Boys & Girls Club,” Rose said. “Whether it is a leader in their own life, or just noticing when somebody needs a helping hand. At the Boys & Girls Club, we’re all here together.”
It is this sense of community that keeps many students in rural Nevada engaged in giving back and becoming a leader. By giving the students something to be a part of, they are becoming better members of society that find a reason to give back.
Many staff members often return to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Mason Valley to help younger students. The staff at the Club’s Yerington site recently helped Kelcie Harnar, 12, and Makayla Boesen find their voices, literally. The two members of the Club were asked to sing the National Anthem at a Reno Aces baseball game and then again during the festival. For these two young girls, these are opportunities that may only come around once in a lifetime.
“The Boys & Girls Club has helped me see lots of different places,” said Harnar. “I’ve spent some time home alone lately, but the Boys & Girls Club helps me get out of the house and it’s just a nice place to get away.”
Without the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley, many of these students would have nowhere to go after school. It is a resource for students and parents alike who are often working long hours to provide for their families.
As the dust settles and the sun sets on another year of Night in the Country, people piled into their cars to return to their normal lives. They went back to the stress of their jobs and schoolwork not giving a second thought to the greater impact this concert will have on the communities of Mason Valley. They will not see the faces of the young girls after singing the National Anthem; they will not see the improving report cards of the students; they will not see the family unit that blossoms out of these Clubs, and that’s okay because the effect on the community is profound.
It seems fitting that a country concert would raise this kind of money for Mason Valley. Country music derives from struggle and perseverance in the land of opportunity: America. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley help students persevere and create opportunities for all young people to succeed. If that is not the essence of being American, then I don’t know what is.
