OWEGO, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – The Boys and Girls Club of Tioga County cut the ribbon on its newest addition and dedicated it to one of the club’s biggest supporters.

Charlie Sibley passed away in August of 2020.

Before that, he had coached and played basketball at the Boys and Girls Club for over 50 years.

Today, the Tioga County Chamber and Sibley’s family officially opened the Charlie Sibley memorial gym.

The new space is over 2,000 square feet.

A volunteer at the Tioga County Boys and Girls Club and a friend of Sibley’s, Ken Henson says that before he passed away, Charlie made a very generous donation to the club.

“We haven’t been able to do certain clinics, and he was a big part of that. And we’ll be able to start that again. We’ll be able to do the Saturday morning basketball for kids. Space is a premium, and it’s huge.”

Henson says that Sibley used to buy sneakers for kids at the club who couldn’t afford them.

As well as purchasing their memberships so they could come back on a daily basis.

He says that currently, about 40 to 60 kids visit the club after school each day.

Henson says that Sibley always wanted to add another gym to the club, and now, that dream has come to fruition.