Southern Tatler Issue 24: Local Focus Feature

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BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER LEE COUNTY SERVING AND SHAPING LEE COUNTY’S YOUTH

SOUTHERN TATLER: JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 ISSUE: LOCAL FOCUS

LOCAL FOCUS BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB

SERVING AND SHAPING LEE COUNTY’S YOUTH THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER LEE COUNTY HAS BEEN ACTIVE IN THE REGION FOR 27 YEARS. SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1990, THE ORGANIZATION HAS DEDICATED TO SHAPING THE YOUTH THAT COME THROUGH ITS DOORS INTO GOOD CITIZENS AND WELL-ROUNDED ADULTS. THE PRESIDENT OF BGC, WANDA LEWIS, AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, BETTY BURNS, SHOW US HOW THE ORGANIZATION IS RUN, WHAT SERVICES IT PROVIDES, THE YOUTH OF LEE COUNTY, AND HOW WE CAN ENSURE A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR THE CLUB AND THE KIDS THAT ARE MEMBERS.

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he Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lee County has been around since 1990. After first breaking ground 27 years ago, the organization is housed in two campuses in the Auburn-Opelika area. The Auburn Unit is housed in the Boykin Gymnasium building on Boykin street, while the Potter-Daniel Unit is located on Toomer Street in Opelika across from the Carver Middle School. The club is affiliated with and chartered by the Boys and Girls Club of America, a national organization. Boys and Girls Club of America is a United Way agency. The Club itself, local and national, is dedicated to a lofty and admirable mission statement: “To enable all young people, especially those who need it most, to reach their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens.” The club provides after-school programs for kids ages 6-18, as well as out-of-school programs during regular school closures such as winter break, spring break, and summer vacations. The summer camp

expands beyond the after-school norm of the organization into an all-day camp. The Greater Lee County chapter currently has 200 to 225 kids regularly enrolled in the program, with a total of 673 either enrolled partially or fully from January to December of 2017. The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lee County most likely services more kids in the area than any other organization, except for the school systems. Wanda Lewis, president of the Lee County program, explains “It is our duty to ensure that when kids age out of the program [at age 18 or upon graduation from high school] that they are leading a healthy life in all ways.”

We sit down with Wanda and the Resource Development Director of the program, Betty Burns, and they explain this mission in full detail, as well as shedding light on the different programs within the organization.

The chapter offers a broad range of educational supplement, life coaching, and guidance to the kids in its programs. Wanda goes on to elaborate on the five major programs at the club; Education and Career Development, Character and Leadership Development, Sports/ Fitness/Recreation, Health and Life Skills, and Arts.

TEACH ON Wanda Lewis and Betty Burns.

WHAT THE STAFF CALLS

“POWER HOUR” Each of these programs has a specific focus on developing the kids into well-rounded adults and good citizens.

She begins with Education and Career development, a vital program in shaping the futures of the children that pass through the Boys and Girls Club.

The first goal of this program is making sure that kids receive the supplemental educational aid that they require. This starts when the children come to the club in the afternoon, in what the staff call “Power Hour,” where kids receive homework help and tutoring. The Club has a partnership with the Auburn and Opelika school systems, where they have an education liaison at both sites that coordinate the tutorial programs. Also, these liaisons, typically retired schoolteachers or other workers within the school system, keep an open line of communication with the teachers and counselors within the local school systems, ensuring that kids are receiving the appropriate help and getting updates on the children’s progress and improvements. Wanda says, “We look at report cards at the end of grading periods, just to keep up with progress and see where students need help and where we helped them to improve.” The program also helps young adults figure out where they want to go or what they want to do when they leave school. The staff makes sure the kids are on target to graduate from high school and they are encouraged to consider what they may want to do once they’ve graduated. They help to prepare kids to the SAT, ACT, and graduation exams as needed. Teens are given literature about colleges all over the country and encouraged to explore and tour, figuring out where they’d like to go once the time comes. The club provides help with building resumes, applying for jobs, preparing for and conducting interviews, and even introduces them to a day of work in some fields such as retail and restaurant management.

The Health and Life Skills system takes on a variety of topics and teaches the kids valuable life skills that some schools no longer teach. Kids are taught to cook several basic meals, how to do basic repairs on clothing (such as sewing a missing button back onto a shirt), among other necessary skills for an adult in the world.

They are also given lessons on finances, credit, and taxes to be better prepared for adult life. On the health side, the kids are taught the importance of a healthy lifestyle,

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“ENSURING THAT KIDS WHO AGE OUT OF THE PROGRAM ARE

LEADING A HEALTHY LIFE IN ALL WAY’

as well as to avoid high-risk behavior in an age-appropriate way in regard to content. They are cautioned against drug and alcohol use as well as other dangerous behaviors. They’re taught the importance of a healthy lifestyle and diet, and this intertwines with the recreational activities provided in the Sports/Fitness/ Recreation program. There are two programs, Smart Girls and Passport to Manhood. They teach young men and women about adult life and provide them with the means to set and achieve goals, as well as maintain positive role models and attitudes, framed in a way as to appeal and address the differences that boys and girls experience when growing up.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW An after school student standing in front of the B.A.G.C motto “ A postitive place for kids.”

The Arts program allow the youth to indulge their creative side, with no shortage of activities. Betty tells of the kids learning music, painting, and dancing, to name a few. She tells the story of one of the significant activities of the summer of 2017, where the kids were invited to learn about the history of Alabama, and more specifically its native tribes. The summer-long event culminated in a visit from the native Poarch Creek tribe, who put on a presentation of Native American art for the children, which included a showing of art and artifacts, as well as an exhibition of the tribe’s traditional dances and unique music. The kids were able to get involved and create their own paintings, pottery and totem poles in tune with the tribe’s traditions. Another event saw a collaboration with the Auburn Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art and allowed the children to experiment and see art in many different media.

doors, and donated items such as blankets to the retirement community. “It shows them how to be caring and concerned about others in the community,” Wanda says. The organization also engages in broad ranges of philanthropy, and as Wanda puts eloquently, there’s more to philanthropy than money. “Some people think philanthropy is just writing a check, and if you can, that’s great! But we don’t want anyone to be discouraged if they can’t write a check, we want to show that there are other ways to give back, and even the kids at their age can contribute to the community and help to improve things in their own ways.” The Boys and Girls Club has a partnership with the Auburn University College of Human Sciences and the Cary Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, one of the club’s largest partnerships. They engage weekly in a program called “Real Sense, Real Change” that encompasses a broad range of topics from goal-setting to money management, as well as service and how the topics relate to one another. The program also gives more valuable life advice to the youth and aiding in their development into adulthood.

Betty tells the story of an artist that came to speak to the kids from Atlanta recently, “This guy does artwork on shoes or sneakers. All of these really cool designs that sell for huge amounts of money, and he chose one of our kids and actually drew on his Nike sneakers then and there. It was cool to see something like that, and it was great for the kids.” The Arts program also sees the kids involved in music, collaborating with Spicer’s Music in Auburn. The kids are given lessons and allowed to learn instruments such as the trumpet and saxophone, and they are exposed to types of music and styles they may not have had access to otherwise.

The Character and Leadership development program is one that genuinely helps shape the youth of the Boys and Girls Club into productive citizens with its various and useful life lessons and activities. Wanda explains that community service is essential, as one of the most vital lessons that the kids can learn is to give back to their community. The youth are involved in civic programs with local nursing homes, shelters and charities. Wanda tells the story of the most recent Christmas holiday, where the children visited residents of Oak Park Nursing Home in Auburn. The kids played games and sang carols with the residents, decorated the

The programs within the Club are undoubtedly varied and impressive, and the rewards are evident in

8 S OUTHERN

TAT L E R

“WE TAKE ALL KINDS, AND EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES SOMETHING TO HELP THESE KIDS.” the successes of the Lee County Units. Boys and Girls Club of America attendees are more likely to graduate from high school than their peers. For example, the graduation rate of high school students in the state of Alabama is 87%. However, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lee County has a 100% high school graduation rate for its active and participating teens, a number that is very difficult to achieve. It’s not hard to see why they succeed, as Wanda and Betty are dedicated to the services they give the youth of Lee County.

Both smile widely as they talk about the programs, individual kids, and pontificate on children in the organization’s past and present.

However, with rewards also comes challenges.

When asked about the most significant challenge of running the Boys and Girls Club, Wanda says, “Funding. We receive an allocated amount nationally, but donations are important. After funding, it’s space. The Auburn Unit shares a building with other organizations in the Boykin Gymnasium, and with 200 kids that can prove to be a challenge.” Betty adds, “A lot of people think our local Boys and Girls Club is federally funded, and that tends to stop people, or they tend to think of it as a handout. The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lee County is NOT federally funded, and we rely on donations, fundraising events, and contributions from the community.” The Boys and Girls Club receives an allocation of funding from the United Way, one of its largest contributors and affiliates. However, these funds are typically allocated for specific areas such

as technology or arts, meaning that they can only be used for those items in the budget. While important, “unrestricted” funds can help with fixed costs, such as employee salaries and utilities, as well as last-minute expenditures needed to accommodate extra kids such as meals. Wanda specifically cites the windfall that even the smallest of donations, especially the unspecific or unrestricted type, can provide to the club. Betty also adds, “If 3% of the residents of Lee County opted into our “I’m in for 10” donation on the website, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lee County would be funded for the entire year.” But Wanda and Betty also live

by Wanda’s message on philanthropy, and those who cannot give monetarily are welcomed as volunteers, substitutes, speakers, mentors, and tutors for kids. “We take all kinds, and everyone can contribute something to help these kids” Wanda states with a smile.

The Boys and Girls Club has an impressive operation with proven results. Success such as 100% high school graduation is not something that many organizations can claim in regard to children in their care, and their caring staff show no signs of stopping in their mission to provide Lee County’s youth with a better future. As the interview wraps, Betty and Wanda are off to start the day’s “Power Hour”; tending to the children’s individual educational needs. They stand and leave the classroom with smiles on their faces, ready to face another day of making a difference in the lives of the youth of Lee County.

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