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Four teams from sponsor Finger Lakes Bone and Joint get ready to roll. See page three for a listing of all Bowl-for-the-Club sponsors.
THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GENEVA
2012 Bowl-for-the-Club a Striking Success! Annual Fundraiser a Community-Wide Event The numbers tell much of the story of the Boys & Girls Club’s fifth annual Bowl-for-theClub held April 21 at Sunset Bowl in Geneva: Over $33,000 raised, 79 teams rolling games in five hours, 36 companies stepping up to sponsor lanes, 350 lunches served up courtesy of Ciccinos Restaurant and hundreds of bowlers collecting new tee shirts and dozens of donated prizes. But the full story of the bowl-a-thon is incomplete without knowing about some of the people taking part in what has become a community-wide event as well as the Club’s largest fundraiser. First on that list would be the good folks of the Finger Lakes Bone and Joint Center.
Their presence was obvious at about 11 am when their 16-plus bowlers took over four lanes with teammates spanning the age of preschoolers to grandparents. The Medical Practice has been associated with the bowl-athon from its inception, when Doctors Dave Cywinski and Dan Alexander took on sponsorship in recognition of their own positive experience with a Boys Club in Buffalo, where the two met and grew up. “Our Club provided a second home and a safe haven for us. It gave us the tools we needed to succeed in life,” says Dr. Alexander. Adds Dr. Cywinski: “Now, here in Geneva, we are happy to give back to the organization that made us who we are today.” Teams came representing a number of banks, health organizations and other businesses, as well as many who came with
neighbors and friends. Sydney Snyder, 8 (with some help from her dad, Lloyd), won the top prize for money raised by an individual ($600). Seneca Foods fielded the team that raised the most cash. And, not insignificantly, the highest scoring bowler was Gina Wakefield, of Geneva.
in this issue Youth of the Year goes to Albany Where Are They Now? The Growing Garden Club Upcoming Events
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Our Mission: to connect and empower all people in our community, especially young people who need us most, to reach their full potential.
spring 2012
to learn about volunteer opportunities or ways to help, please call 315.759.6060
Where Are They Now? Tyrone Parker traveled to Albany as the Club’s “Youth of the Year”
a look at our alumni
Leading by Example You can’t miss seeing Tyrone Parker if you stop by the Boys & Girls Club. As one of its most active members, Tyrone has completed programs like Junior Achievement, Money Matters and Career Launch. He emceed the Club’s Annual Dinner and has a job behind the Geneva Community Center’s concession stand during after-school hours. Outside of the Center, he is a member of Ontario County’s “With Youth for Youth” program and serves as a County Youth Court Member. In April Parker added one more Boys & Girls Club designation to his long list when he was named the Club’s Youth of the Year. As part of the honor, Parker traveled to Albany in May to meet with members of the NYS legislature (including his own representatives State Senator Michael Nozzolio and Assemblyman Brian Kolb) and present a
creative corner
speech to a panel of community organizers. Tyrone focused his remarks on the impact his involvement the Boys & Girls Club has had on him. "My experiences have given me the opportunity to grow as a student and become an active member of the community.” he says. A freshman at Geneva High School, Tyrone is the eldest of four in his singleparent family. “He is a wonderful role model to his younger siblings and fellow club members.” says Executive Director Arlene Francis.
The 2004 Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year has always been a big dreamer. And for Tarneicea “Buffy” Golden, one by one, many of those dreams are coming true. Buffy arrived in Geneva at age 10, when she and her five siblings came to live with her grandmother. The Club’s Goodman St. Center was a few yards from her door, and Buffy took full advantage of all the Club had to offer. Within a few years she would chair both the Torch and Keystone Clubs, work as an instructor for Kid’s Campus University, and serve as emcee for the Annual Dinner. She took first place in the Junior Olympic basketball shootout competition held at the Club, and went on to win a bronze metal in the Nationals. A Boys & Girls Club board member introduced her to the Rotary Exchange Student Program that brought about a senor year spent in Australia. On May 10, after four years of hard work, another of Buffy’s dreams came true: She became the first college graduate in her family when she received her Bachelor Degree in television production and writing from Columbia College in Chicago.
“My experiences at the Boys & Girls Club have inspired me to be a leader among my peers and has taught me how to be a responsible student and member of the community.”
photographs by Goodman Center members Amber Valder (left) and Anthony Torres (right).
“Joining the club didn't make me have dreams. It made me realize the ones I did have were possible.”
MANY THANKS to our Bowl-for-the Club sponsors: PRESENTING SPONSOR: Finger Lakes Bone & Joint Center SPONSORS: Ciccino’s Pizza, Finger Lakes Radio Group, Sunset Bowl
LANE SPONSORS: Michaels & Smolak Finger Lakes Federal Credit Union Finger Lakes Health Finger Lakes Medical Associates PC Knights Of Columbus Billsboro Winery Ken Steadman J March Rod Littlejohn Geneva Club Beverage Morgan Stanley/ Smith Barney Seneca Falls Savings Bank Pedulla’s Interstate Heating
Cam’s Pizzeria The Presbyterian Church of Geneva The Tuxill Group Century 21 Vance Metal Fabricators Reliant Community Credit Union Red Dove Tavern Geneva Dental Associates Assemblyman Brian Kolb Phelps Sungas Ramada Inn Hampton Inn
Rooted in Community
have been donated by many groups and individuals.
How Does Your Garden Grow? Now in its third season, the Boys & Girls Club garden, located just outside a back door at the GCC, has many answers to that age-old nursery rhyme.
This garden grows too with the plantings of senior citizens taking part in the Seniors Club that meets at the GCC. The group has a section of raised beds for their own plants, and, last year, added a row of zinnias to brighten up the garden’s edge.
First, this garden grows with members of the Teen Center Gardening Club. About 36 Teen Center members have a hand in the growing over the course of a year, with about 11 members actively tending the garden on a regular basis.
This garden grows also with visits from Roots and Shoots Club members, an organization of 3-10 year-olds that meets regularly at the GCC. The group has used the garden plot to learn about plants, dirt, and all things that creep and crawl upon and under its soil.
This garden also grows with the help of many volunteers and supporters. With a Boys & Girls Club staff member, Master Gardener Steve Wyckoff and a rotating group of community volunteers direct activities for the club’s weekly meetings. Volunteers include board members, USDA’s Plant Genetics Group, and staff, students, and professors from the NYS Agricultural Experiment Station, Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Finger Lakes Community College. HWS provides a Garden Coordinator through its Americore Vista program. The Wyckoff and Horizon Foundations have provided funding for seeds and materials and gardening enthusiast John Hicks donated Organix soil. Plants
This garden grows as well by expanding into the GCC kitchen, where Teen Center members have made things like bean salad, raspberry jam, corn-onthe-cob, and salsa from the garden’s bounty. This activity brings the garden right into the mission of the Boys & Girls Club by advocating healthy living through sustainable practices of growing and preparing homemade foods. And isn’t all that so much more enticing than silver bells, cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row?
Geneva Board Of Education Casella Waste Systems PRIZE WINNERS: Grand Prize: ($1000 Cash) Jamie Stoops Most Money Raised: (First: Apple iPad) Sydney Snyder (Second: Kindle Fire) Mary Jackson Most Money Raised By A Team: Seneca Foods, Doreen Sears, Captain High Game: Gina Wakefield (236)
upcoming events june 24- august 29: Boot Camp Workout, Mondays and Wednesdays, 7-8 pm june 25-29: Advanced Digital Photography, Jeff Adams, Instructor M-F, 9-11:30 am july 17: 16th Annual BGC Golf Tournament, 11:30 am start. Seneca Lake Country Club.
our staff october 25: Boys & Girls Club Annual Dinner, 6 pm. Club 86. ongoing: Pickleball, Tuesdays 7-9 pm; Thursdays 10 am-noon Zumba: Mondays, Wednesdays 5:306:30 pm, Thursdays 6-7 pm Saturdays 9:30-10:30 Canandaigua Driving School, every other Saturday 9 am-2 pm
Executive Director: Arlene Francis Goodman Street Unit Director: Bob Ritter Teen Center Unit Director: Gabrielle Wadhams Membership and Safety Coordinators: Alfredo Bizardi and Vilma Cruz Office Manager and Event Planner: Susan Tolleson newsletter editor: Jan Regan for more information: www.genevabgc.org 315.759.6060
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At the Geneva Community Center: Card playing, Pickleball paddling, and Roots and Shooting!
NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID Geneva, NY 14456 Permit No. 60
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GENEVA PO BOX 166 GENEVA, NY 14456