COMMUNITY • Boys & Girls Club celebrate 70 years

Community

THE OSIDER SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2022

BOYS & GIRLS

CLUBS OF OCEANSIDE WORDS: KATIE LALICATA PHOTOS: KEVIN MIJARES

Celebrating 70 years with the Oceanside Boys and Girls Club! This remarkable organization is currently impacting 800 to 1000 youth a day. Their dedication “to provide youth with a kaleidoscope of opportunities to find their passion” is a mantra here—coined by long time CEO Jodi Diamond. It’s a common sentiment shared by the entire staff of the Oside B&G Club. With their main town site located just east of the I-5 and south of Mission Avenue and five different onsite school locations, their presence is visible in all parts of the community.

The facilities at the main town site location

are top notch; it’s a safe, educational, and creative afternoon wonderland. Amanda Jordan, Manager of Marketing and PR, embodies this collective vision. Choosing the Oceanside Boys & Girls Club because her passion lies in exposing kids to opportunities, and here—they do just that.

With most of the staff being life long educators, they bring unparalleled experience and professionalism to this organization and allow them to be able to provide for and meet all of the diverse needs of the kids. The programs offered are dynamic and engaging.

The STREAM (Science, Tech, Research, Engineering, Art, and Math) lab room is state-ofthe-art and is an amazing hub to teach the kids foundational and developmental skills. The industrial-style culinary kitchen is equally impressive. This beautiful kitchen serves as a space to educate the kids about life skills of nutrition, and how to cook their own food. This kitchen doubles as a prep space where a team prepares each child of the program a fresh and nutritious meal single every day!

Providing an indoor rock climbing wall, an indoor basketball court, and outdoor soccer arena fitness activities are emphasized here, too. In addition to these educational and physical wellness programs, the Oceanside Boys & Girls Club has some amazing additions and renovations coming up. They’re thrilled to be adding an outdoor educational space with an onsite garden and living wall. Here, the kids will be able to learn about gardening, planting, growing, and harvesting their own food. These skills and opportunity are truly the kinds of experiences that strengthen a community at the core of its roots.

Embarking upon her sixteenth year as CEO Jodi Diamond has been instrumental in growth and development during her command. Creating impactful opportunities, programs and partnerships with local and nonlocal entities to expose the kids to plethora of life changing experiences is something really impressive being done within these walls. “The magic that happens here is really about having the youth’s horizons boarded without them realizing it. It’s incumbent upon us as leaders to expose them to things outside of their comfort zones. The team comes together over and over again to give the kids the ability, confidence, and support they need, so we can see them succeed in the way we want them, too.”

This aspect of the Oceanside Boys & Girls Club that Diamond expounded upon is really a beautiful contribution from this organization to this community. With the 70th anniversary gala coming up in October, the Oceanside Boys & Girls Club extends an invitation to journey with them. They’d like to be around for another 70 years—staying integrated and woven with the members of this community is the best way to ensure that the youth have access to these impactful opportunities for generations to come!

Boys & Girls Clubs of Oceanside 401 Country Club Lane (760) 433-8920 bgcoceanside.org @bgcoceanside