Boys & Girls Club of McAllen CEO voices concerns over proposed federal budget cuts

MCALLEN, Texas – The chief executive officer of the Boys & Girls Club of McAllen says her group is facing severe funding cuts from the federal government.

The Boys & Girls Club is a nonprofit program that provides services to promote the development for the youth of McAllen with after school programs. 

Dalinda Gonzalez-Alcantar is the group’s CEO. During a recent Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force webinar, Gonzalez-Alcantar said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would impact after-school funding and juvenile prevention programs. 

According to ABC News, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has passed the U.S. House and is now under deliberation by the U.S. Senate, with a July 4 deadline approaching. 

Following on from the webinar, Gonzalez-Alcantar gave a telephone interview to the Rio Grande Guardian and later a video interview. In the video interview, she said the club has always had great relations with federal elected officials. She said she hopes they do the right thing. Here is the video interview:

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Gonzalez-Alcantar said when it comes to economic developments such as community members getting an education at South Texas College or getting a secondary education, that would not be possible without a healthy community.

“If we need to take the kind humane, right thing to do away from the equation, then I want to start talking about the economic impact,” Gonzalez-Alcantar said during the webinar. “If all anyone cares about is the economic impact of gutting basic needs, then let’s have that conversation too.”

On Tuesday, Gonzalez-Alcantar gave an exclusive interview with to the Guardian about the cuts to her group’s programs. She said the McAllen club served 20,000 children and teenagers last year, providing the kids with wellness, mental and health resources.

Americorps, a nonprofit service program, had about 38 employees working with McAllen Boys & Girls Club  before they were completely halted about two months ago, Gonzalez-Alcantar said. She said Americorps provided “several hundreds of thousands of dollars a year” to Hidalgo County.

“What is really important for everyone to consider is we also receive pass-through funding that the state receives from the federal government,” Gonzalez-Alcantar said. “It is not just the dollar in, dollar out, it is that states are going to take care of themselves, and they are going to take care of institutions first.

“So, we also need to think about that impact. If the federal government has a lot of these services zeroed out, it would stand to reason that the state would not receive a lot of dollars, and the state is not going to be able to provide those dollars to us. So, I do not necessarily know how you could capture that economic impact.”

Gonzalez-Alcantar said the McAllen club could stand to receive a funding cut of about $258,000. She said this money is typically allocated in preventative resources, curriculum and mentorship opportunities for the children. Gonzalez-Alcantar said she hopes elected officials “do right by our kids.” And she said she wants to encourage the local community to play a role in the club through volunteer work.

“It is important as a community for us to understand,” Gonzalez-Alcantar said. “When you do not have low-cost, quality child care for your families, we know that is directly correlated with an economy that suffers and struggles.”

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