Shaquille O’Neal-backed youth centre attracts 400+ children after $1.1 million makeover

Photo: Shaquille O’Neal Foundation/ Instagram In 2021, Shaquille O’Neal’s foundation helped transform a former Georgia middle school into a Boys and Girls Club designed to give local children and teenagers a safe place to learn, create and grow. The Shaquille O’Neal Boys and Girls Club of Henry County opened in August after a $1.1 million renovation of the former Henry County Middle School, according to The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation. Within its first year, the centre had registered more than 400 young members, turning an unused school building into a busy community hub for Henry County families.The project was more than a celebrity donation. It grew out of a three-year community engagement effort led by a local advisory board, with support from Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, the City of McDonough, Henry County, the Henry County Board of Education and other partners. For O’Neal, the cause was personal: he said the Boys and Girls Club had provided a safe space for him while he was growing up and helped shape who he became.A former school finds a new purposeThe club occupies the former Henry County Middle School, a building that was given a $1.1 million renovation before it ...