The club is working with the school district to promote its programming.

Last fall, the club kicked off its most aggressive fundraising campaign to date, hoping to raise $2 million for the teen center. To date, the campaign has raised $1.5 million, $500,000 of which came from MGM Resorts International, owner of Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. About a quarter of the funding is being used for the renovations and the remainder will be used for the programming for the next five years.

“We want to be accountable for the outcomes we are proposing for the community, to our stakeholders and the youth,” Carrera said.

Boys & Girls Club board member and local restaurateur Cookie Till, who is co-chairing the capital campaign for the teen center, said it was Carrera’s vision for the club that made her increase her involvement. She is eager for the business partnerships to create opportunity for local youth.

“I think it’s something that’s going to be great. The kids are going to have the ability to learn a skill before they even get out of high school,” Till said. “I feel like the goal of the whole program and the STEM project are to get kids either comfortably job ready or ready to go to college by the time they graduate, which is huge.”