"The kids just used to hang out and have no structure," says Club Edge director Scott Ramsey. "Now, with the new gym, there are many more options for them."

The remodel on the church grounds not only included a shiny new gymnasium, but also an expansive kitchen, a video-entertainment room, a computer room with Internet access, and two rooms for studying.

Ramsey is excited with the new possibilities allowed by the facility upgrade, such as cooking classes, badminton, and a required homework time during the initial hour after school lets out.

"The cool thing about the program is that we have our homework time, and then we have different organized things for them to do," Ramsey says. Although a homework period is required, kids can choose from a number of activities for the duration of the afternoon, such as air hockey or Nintendo in the game room, aerobics or hip-hop dance on the gym floor, or more studying upstairs. Ramsey would especially like to see an arts and crafts section added to the mix. "We have a lot of artsy people in our church and I'm trying to get them involved," he says.

Before these recent changes, Ramsey says enrollment was at its lowest. Coming onto staff last year, he took time to evaluate the program and devised ways to improve it. The result has been increased enrollment and increased enthusiasm. The program now boasts 20 students between sixth and eighth grade.

Los Gatos resident Kim Roberts, who has one daughter in the program and another who previously attended Club Edge, says she has noticed what a difference the changes have made. "The new facility gives a lot more expanded space," she says. "It really is a great environment. As a parent, it is a tremendous resource and relief to have that kind of a caring, supportive environment.

The reasons for enrolling students are varied; however, Ramsey says the program does cater to many divorced families.

"Our cost is minimal for what we offer, because we are dealing with families where the mom is barely getting by on her own in Los Gatos. Our heart goes out to just be a resource for them," he says.

Another aim of the program is to prevent misbehavior that stems from unsupervised time. "Drugs are a huge thing here in Los Gatos," Ramsey says. "Kids with money can find themselves in trouble."

Club Edge began in 1996, when the Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Department approached the church to brainstorm ways to get kids off the street after school.

Although the program is not directly tied to the church, Ramsey says he will approach religious topics from time to time and inform the kids about when the youth groups are going on field trips at the church. "We don't push and we aren't Bible-thumping, we just want to get to know the students and let them know they can do stuff with the church." Most importantly, however, is that the kids have a place to be safe and have fun.

"They are still kids, but they are dealing with adult pressures," Ramsey says. "They are forced to grow up too fast. But you can still reach them at this age. I love this stage—they can still have fun."

"I'm looking to get 100 kids in here," he says. "The potential for this program is huge. I'm so excited!"

For more information, visit http://www.calvarylosgatos.org/clubedge.