New Multipurpose Court Built, Recreational Facility Repairs Made at Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio’s Club in Cleveland Through Service Project of More Than 80 Volunteers from Global Toll Industry

CLEVELAND, OHIO – Approximately 170 kids a day who attend the Broadway Club, the largest of the 48 sites operated by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio, will now have new and improved recreational facilities – such as a multipurpose basketball and tennis court and a repaired and reshaped baseball diamond. The equipment and people power are donated by the charitable arm of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) — the worldwide association for the owners and operators of toll facilities and the businesses that serve them.

Every year, IBTTA’s charitable arm, known as the IBTTA Foundation, convenes a volunteer service project among its members to give back to the community that hosts its annual Maintenance, Engineering & Roadway Operations Workshop, which brings together toll industry experts and attendees from around the world. This year, the Workshop is being held in downtown Cleveland with local host the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, which has played a critical role in ensuring the success of the Workshop and the annual Service Project. Several previous service projects repaired the Habitat of Humanity South Hampton Roads ReStore facility in Norfolk, Va., built parts of a New Orleans community for returning warriors and families with lifelong rehabilitative needs, and made improvements to a campus for abused and neglected boys who are in the custody of the state of Oklahoma.

“When we come to a city for one of our conferences, we want to thank them for welcoming us and allowing us to gather here for a few days,” said Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation and President of IBTTA. “One way to say thank you is through service. Our industry is about building connections, and we connect people through providing strong and resilient transportation networks. It energizes us to break out of the daily routine, come together from the corners of the world, and make something better for the communities we serve.”

“We are honored to host the conference in Cleveland this year and support one of the largest volunteer service projects ever undertaken by the IBTTA Foundation,” said Ferzan Ahmed, executive director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, an IBTTA member located in Berea, Ohio. “This service project will build a stronger community and have a lasting, positive impact on the lives of children, and the volunteers will forever be connected to this community.”

"Our kids have wanted an outdoor court for years, and the volunteers from IBTTA made it possible," said Broadway Club Director Joseph Greathouse. "This is something that will benefit our current generation of kids, along with generations of kids to come. We are beyond grateful to IBTTA, the volunteers and the companies who helped make this project a reality."

The Broadway Club is unique among Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide, because it's one of very few that has its own urban farm and sewing program for members. The Broadway Club will also be one of a few Boys & Girls Clubs across the country with a VersaCourt multi-purpose court.
 

Funding for the service project comes primarily from the IBTTA Foundation through the generous support of IBTTA members including Atkins, Conduent, Douglas Stuart, ETC, the E-Z Pass Group, Fagan, Gannett Fleming, Global Agility Solutions, HNTB, Kimley Horn, Kuper, Kyra Solutions, Milligan Partners, Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, TransCore, Versilis Inc. and Wynndalco Enterprises.  

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Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio was formed by the 2019 merger of Clubs in Cleveland, Akron, Lorain County and Sandusky and is now the fifth-largest Boys & Girls Club organization in the country with 48 locations in five counties. Clubs provide safe, fun places for kids 6-18 after school with a focus on academic success, healthy lifestyles and character development.

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) is the worldwide association for the owners and operators of toll facilities and the businesses that serve them. Founded in 1932, IBTTA has members in more than 20 countries on six continents. Through advocacy, thought leadership and education, members are implementing state-of-the-art, innovative user-based transportation financing solutions to address the critical infrastructure challenges of the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ibtta.org.  

The Ohio Turnpike is a 241-mile toll road offering one of the safest, efficient and convenient routes for motorists to reach east and west destinations along the northern corridor of Ohio and beyond. The Ohio Turnpike, which opened on Oct. 1, 1955, is owned and operated by the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission in Berea, Ohio. To meet the needs of travelers, there are 14 state-of-the-art service plazas, eight maintenance facilities, and 31 interchanges along the turnpike. The modernization of the Ohio Turnpike’s toll collection system is currently underway. The new system, which will go live in 2023, will feature open road tolling at highway speeds for E-ZPass customers. For more information visit, www.ohioturnpike.org.

Contacts:

Jennifer Walsh

International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association

[email protected]  

Charles Cyrill

Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission

[email protected]

Ken Wood

Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio

[email protected]