Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sun Corridor
Casa Grande Community Recreation Center, 1905 N Peart Rd, Casa Grande, AZ 85122
About
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sun Corridor offers activities that include a youth soccer program, drug and alcohol prevention programs, an internet safety course, homework help, and mentoring. The program has offered Power Hour, a supervised homework time; NetSmartz, which taught children about internet safety; and Club ZOOM, which engaged children in hands-on science experiments. The Picacho Avenue facility included an art room, computer lab, game room, gymnasium and learning center.
The organization’s mission is to inspire and enable all young people to realize their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. It is a nonprofit organization affiliated with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and provides access to high-quality after-school and summer programs. It promotes safe, positive, and inclusive environments where all youth feel welcomed and supported, and club members reflect diverse socio-economic backgrounds, genders, races, and ethnicities of the communities served. The organization has grown to include eight branches in Casa Grande, Arizona City and Maricopa, and the Picacho Avenue facility became known as its “Main Branch.”
What started in the 1990s as a group of concerned Casa Grande residents wanting to provide safe programming for area kids led to the formation of the Boys & Girls Club of Casa Grande in 1998. In 1999, the one-year-old Boys & Girls Club of the Casa Grande Valley moved to 798 N. Picacho Ave. In 2002, the partnership between Casa Grande and the Boys & Girls Club of Casa Grande Valley strengthened when the organization agreed to run the city’s youth soccer program. From 2004 to 2006, a new after-school site opened at Arizona City Elementary School. Hal Hansen was hired as the first director, and in 2005, Matthew Lemberg was named as the new executive director, replacing Hansen; Lemberg had been on staff with the club since 2003, serving as the youth sports director.
The organization is a nonprofit affiliated with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and partnered with the Casa Grande City Council, which approved an increase in the local sales tax “accommodations” category and allocated a portion of these funds to the program and entered into a lease agreement for a city-owned facility. The Casa Grande Elementary School District began busing children to the Picacho Avenue facility after school. The organization focuses resources and efforts in growing communities through partnerships with organizations that share its mission and vision.
Founding volunteers and community members described why they supported the club, saying, “We knew we needed something for the kids in the area,” and, “At the time, there weren’t a lot of alternatives for kids to go after school.” One parent and board member shared that all six of her children eventually became members at the Boys & Girls Club and that “when kids have a club to belong to, that’s pretty neat.” Another supporter, Casa Grande resident and Arizona New Horizon Realty owner Paula Lambert, said, “I joined the executive board for the Boys & Girls Club in the early 2000s because I believed in what they were doing,” and recalled that “they had only one club at the time, but it was very exciting because they were starting to grow.” Lambert also described club traditions such as a Thanksgiving meal every year for the club, where “Michael Jackson would prepare the turkeys at BeDillon’s and we’d all gather together with the member families at the club on Picacho Avenue.” She said, “It was quite rewarding to see kids walk in for the first time and very exciting,” and, “I feel very honored to have watched the club evolve over the years.” Reflecting on leadership, she added, “I was on the board when we hired Matt and it was one of the best moves the board made. He was the right choice and his love of community is evident. His leadership is the reason we have been able to expand over the years.”
Last updated January 17, 2026.
The organization’s mission is to inspire and enable all young people to realize their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. It is a nonprofit organization affiliated with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and provides access to high-quality after-school and summer programs. It promotes safe, positive, and inclusive environments where all youth feel welcomed and supported, and club members reflect diverse socio-economic backgrounds, genders, races, and ethnicities of the communities served. The organization has grown to include eight branches in Casa Grande, Arizona City and Maricopa, and the Picacho Avenue facility became known as its “Main Branch.”
What started in the 1990s as a group of concerned Casa Grande residents wanting to provide safe programming for area kids led to the formation of the Boys & Girls Club of Casa Grande in 1998. In 1999, the one-year-old Boys & Girls Club of the Casa Grande Valley moved to 798 N. Picacho Ave. In 2002, the partnership between Casa Grande and the Boys & Girls Club of Casa Grande Valley strengthened when the organization agreed to run the city’s youth soccer program. From 2004 to 2006, a new after-school site opened at Arizona City Elementary School. Hal Hansen was hired as the first director, and in 2005, Matthew Lemberg was named as the new executive director, replacing Hansen; Lemberg had been on staff with the club since 2003, serving as the youth sports director.
The organization is a nonprofit affiliated with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and partnered with the Casa Grande City Council, which approved an increase in the local sales tax “accommodations” category and allocated a portion of these funds to the program and entered into a lease agreement for a city-owned facility. The Casa Grande Elementary School District began busing children to the Picacho Avenue facility after school. The organization focuses resources and efforts in growing communities through partnerships with organizations that share its mission and vision.
Founding volunteers and community members described why they supported the club, saying, “We knew we needed something for the kids in the area,” and, “At the time, there weren’t a lot of alternatives for kids to go after school.” One parent and board member shared that all six of her children eventually became members at the Boys & Girls Club and that “when kids have a club to belong to, that’s pretty neat.” Another supporter, Casa Grande resident and Arizona New Horizon Realty owner Paula Lambert, said, “I joined the executive board for the Boys & Girls Club in the early 2000s because I believed in what they were doing,” and recalled that “they had only one club at the time, but it was very exciting because they were starting to grow.” Lambert also described club traditions such as a Thanksgiving meal every year for the club, where “Michael Jackson would prepare the turkeys at BeDillon’s and we’d all gather together with the member families at the club on Picacho Avenue.” She said, “It was quite rewarding to see kids walk in for the first time and very exciting,” and, “I feel very honored to have watched the club evolve over the years.” Reflecting on leadership, she added, “I was on the board when we hired Matt and it was one of the best moves the board made. He was the right choice and his love of community is evident. His leadership is the reason we have been able to expand over the years.”
Last updated January 17, 2026.
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