streetalk ���������������������4 Family �������������������������5 Arts & Culture�������������7 Opinion�����������������������9 Music Beat ��������������� 11 Feature story ����������� 12
Kids News & Review
My winter window������������������� 13 sport ������������������������ 15 Film �������������������������� 17 Kids voice���������������� 18 15 Minutes �������������� 19
a positive action see Opinion, page 9
meet the treble clefs see Music, page 11
Making a Difference
For Our
Youth
Jackelin, Age 14
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Ali, Age 10
Bella, age 12
Welcome to the 2018
Kids news & review t
his is one of the Reno News & Review’s most important and unique projects, for it touches many people in the community while helping to create better awareness and understanding of one of the Reno area’s most valued organizations: The Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. The “Kids N&R” has received 1st Place honors in its category for 9 years as “Best Special Section” in the Nevada Press Association’s Better Newspaper Awards – a statewide competition judged each year by an outof-state panel. Most of the stories and ads were created by kids from various locations of the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows, so what you’ll see and read on the following pages is truly “through the eyes of children”.
About the boys & Girls Club HisTORY This is our 43rd year of “Proudly Serving Kids in Northern Nevada.” 1976 marked the beginning of operations for the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. The Club was formed and financed by local business men and women and many concerned citizens. In late 1981, the Club’s main facility opened at its current location on E. 9th St. in Reno – the Club now has a total of 22 locations throughout Reno, Sparks and Fernley. The Club is open to any youth age 6-18. Membership to the Club is an affordable $20 annually. Additional site fees do apply for before & after school programming and for the full-day school break programs including WCSD summer, fall, winter and spring break. Please click here for membership information or contact the membership office at (775) 331-KIDS (5437). The Club provides transportation from select Washoe County schools, and nutritious meals are served daily at various sites. No child is ever turned away due to the inability to pay. Financial assistance is available.
MissiON To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.
PROGRAMs The Boys & Girls Club offers nearly 130 different programs, events and activities to meet the diverse needs and interests of their members. Core programming areas include: Character & leadership Development education & Career Development health & life skills the Arts sports, Fitness & recreation
iNTeResTed iN BeCOMiNG A MeMBeR? Visit our “Join” page on our website – www. bgtcm.org - for membership information or contact a membership coordinator: Kayla Moynahan, Membership Coordinator at (775) 360-2410 sarah odom, Membership Coordinator at (775) 360-2471
Boomtown Boomtown Fun Center Bomtown Casino Hotel 2100 Garson Road, Reno, NV 89439
775-345-6000 www.boomtownreno.com/funcenter Maddie, Age 11
wAYs TO Give From humble beginnings in 1976, the Boys & Girls Club has grown into the premier agency serving youth in the Truckee Meadows, with more than 14,000 Club members benefiting from before and after-school programming at 22 sites throughout the Truckee Meadows. Like so many non-profit agencies, it takes the generosity of a caring community to continue to provide high-level programming – especially at a time when our services are more in demand than ever before. Corporate and individual donations can be made online securely, on our website – www.bgtcm.org - or by calling us at (775) 331-KIDS (5437). Thank you for supporting the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows and enjoy the 2017 Kids News & Review. Please tell our advertisers that you saw their ad in the Kids N&R!
2018 Kids News & Review Content: Ad design: Photos: CoordinAtion: LAyout/design: Ad CoordinAtion: Ad sALes: PubLished by:
Kids and Staff of the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows Kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows Kids and Staff of the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows Tina Drudi, Director of Program Quality Maria Ratinova Lisa Ryan Gina Odegard and Myranda Keeley Chico Community Publishing, Inc., dba The Reno News & Review
The content and opinions expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows or Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
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kids news & review 3
What are your thoughts on global Warming? Celebrating healthy smiles sinCe 1976
“I think that Tesla’s helping a lot because they use energy instead of gas, and gas makes the earth hotter, which means that ice is melting in Antarctica.”
Schedule an Appointment at our New South Meadows Locations or in Sparks!
Genesis Simonson 4th Grade
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“Global warming is something that affects things in the Antarctic, like breaking ice. It kills coral, it kills trees, and it takes away habitats for animals. We need to stop it. I want animals to keep living.” Wesley Rice, 3rd Grade
“I don’t feel good about global warming because been it’s changing our weather, especially winter. As you can see outside, there’s hardly any snow, and it’s pretty much the middle of winter.” Tiana Sage, 5th Grade
Food oF northern ood Bank ofBank Northern Nevada nevada
75) 331-3663 (775) 331-3663 w.fbnn.orgwww.fbnn.org
Jimmy,Age Age89 mmer Burner, 4
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“I don’t like global warming because it can actually cause skin cancer, changing of weather, like winter, and I especially don’t like it because it’s getting really hot in summer.” Melanie Spikula, 5th Grade
family
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CJ, Age 6 Age 12 Jackie,
Anne StudebAker, ker, FFAmily PluS director
T
he holiday season is always buzzing around Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows! Aside from our Holiday Help Program which consists of donors in the community adopting our members and their families; we have many other excit exciting events going on as well! Our annual Breakfast with Santa, sponsored this year by Jet, is an opportunity for families to have an affordable breakfast together, take a picture with Santa, and engage in many festive activities. On Saturday, December 1st, we anticipate serving around 600 meals. Another event that has become a staple around Christmas is Shop with a Sheriff. 20 of our lucky members will have the opportunity to be taken on a shopping spree by a deputy or an honorary deputy. This is always a very fun event that exposes our youth to some of our communities first responders in a fun way! Volunteers from the Hot August Nights Foundation will be taking 25 of our members on a shopping spree this month as well. Each child will be matched with a volunteer and allowed to shop for themselves and their family members. As the holiday programs die down, our Strengthening Families Program will
resume in January. This is a 10 week program in which children, ages 6-17, and their parents attend classes focusing on topics that help create happier, more successful families. Modules include topics such as: Communicating with Love and Understanding; Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug Use; Setting Consequences and Limits; and Choosing Good Friends and Monitoring Activities. Each class is two hours in length and allows for parents and their children to eat a meal together, separate for class, and engage in a family activity and discussion around each week’s module. Classes are available both in English and Spanish and there are weekly incentives for families who attend. The Strengthening Families Program is completely free, including a meal and childcare for children under the age of six. Children whose families participate must become members of Boys & Girls Club and will receive a scholarship. For more information and to reserve your family’s space, please contact Anne Studebaker, Family PLUS Director at (775)360-2401 or astudebaker@bgctm.org.
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Trista, age 12
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Elena
arts&Culture
bite of
reality F
or the past five years teens have been participating in Greater Nevada Credit Union’s Bite of Reality Event at the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. This event simulated what teens could expect out of adult hood in terms of bills and money related responsibilities. The event takes place in the gymnasium with tables set up to
Ta-Tiana anderson-Hall, Teen services direcTor represent adult money choices. The table categories include child care, clothing and personal care, the credit union, entertainment, groceries and dining, household needs, housing and utilities, Bite of Reality mall and Transportation, each table is accompanied by a large table banner to make it easy to identify. Prior to the simulation beginning, Michelle Hale, the Facilitator explains the program to the teens. Students were provided with a profile on an app accessible via tablets and/or their cell phones. Their profiles include a career with a monthly salary, a career for their spouse with their monthly salary and a picture of their child(ren). Teens have to figure out their starting monthly income and keep a check register. They are required to make all necessary purchases as
they would in the real world for a month at each table and then balance their check register. Members with insufficient funds are sent to the credit union for further guidance. The overall goal is for students to have $100 or more in their checking account at the end of the simulation. Students are encouraged to deposit to their retirement account and/or pay extra on their credit card debt. After the simulation members enjoy a BBQ and a hot chocolate bar to celebrate. Members really enjoy the event and a majority of members feel that this opportunity helps them learn to make budgets. Bite of Reality helps put money spending into perspective for teens and some even express that going forward they will manage their money wisely and save as much as possible.
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Nevada HumaNe Society Kyi, Age 9
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Komaya, Age 10
2825 Longley Ln B, Reno, NV 89502 (775) 856-2000
Kyra, Age 12
OPINION
positive action W
hen the Boys & Girls Clubs of Truckee Meadows was introduced to the Positive Action Program in February of 2018 the club was currently using Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) or AKA Be Great Values Program. This movement was developed in house by a variety of different departments for the Truckee Meadows Boys & Girls Clubs in the Winter of 2013. This process and technique was used to maintain a safe and fun environment for members when attending clubs, and after the introduction and training of the Positive Action program we immediately as a team develop a game plan to infuse Positive Action lessons into our daily routine. We first started with individuals that participated in the Train the Trainer to go over philosophy of the program and why it works with the “floor� staff; program aides that would be teaching the lessons to the members. Just like having a PBIS mentality we wanted to emphasize the point with staff
that would be addressing behaviors with members to adopt the thought process of the THINK, ACT, FEEL circle, and integrate new documents that were supported through Positive Action, like Positive Behavior Plan, and Positive Behavior Celebration. By identifying and connecting the feeling attached with making both good and bad decisions, it naturally opens up dialogue between members, and staff to help guide and influence positive choices, and decisions. This method pushed having more in depth conversations with members, and the staff felt more empowered to deal with kiddos that are consistently making trouble. Thankfully the staff that are the front line of working with the members daily have a wonderful mindset of taking any program that truly benefits the kids and running with it!! With time Positive Action become part of our overall Club Culture in the Truckee Meadows and was very second nature for staff members to enforce not only the
Be Great Values (PBIS) and Positive Action (THINK, ACT, FEEL Circle) The next step was posting the THINK, ACT, FEEL circle in common areas, and tools that we use with the members. This included putting the circle on the back of Bathroom Passes, Chess Passes, and Staff Badges. The circle also was posted in restrooms, cafeteria, classrooms, and joint used spaces, like the gym, outdoor pavilion and on exit door. Getting the members familiar with the circle not only promoted the program itself, but was also a helpful tool for members to address issues with each other in a calm and peaceful matter. This approach was also very helpful for staff to not be so quick to being frustrated or angry with situations that would come up with members, and has created tremendous balance of emotions when working with youth. Patients is a huge lesson that has come forth with staff, and members alike. Positive
AmAndA HerringsHAw, HeAltH & life skills CoordinAtor Action lessons were running daily during the peak season of Spring, and Summer Break Programs. An hour was set daily into programming to allow time for all grades to rotate through HLS/ Positive Action Lessons. As we moved into the school year we are very intentional with lessons we pull to run on a weekly basis with members. Staff are at the point that they can gage what kind of underlying issues their age group might be struggling with and address it through Positive Action Lessons. From a collaborative stand point with staff members, we would speak weekly about issues that we might be having as a team and move forward with incorporating Positive Action lessons as a group during set HLS programming as well. Overall since starting the Positive Action Program Incident Reports have gone done substantially, and members most importantly feel emotionally and physically safe when they are at club! :)
A special advertising supplement to Reno News & Review DECEMBER 20, 2018
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www.dentistryforkidsreno.com Aria, Age 12
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music BEAT
Jared ortiz gonzalez, age 14
MEEt thE Treble Clefs EddiE Guth, Art CoordinAtor A Ator
W
e have a thriving performing arts program at the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows, and we would like highlight our new blossoming Choir, “The Treble Clefs” from our Pennington facility located in 1300 foster drive. This group of talented young singers is lead by local voice coach, Tiffanie Story. Tiffanie worked with our members starting in August and rehearsed one hour a week for 3 months practicing their choreography and the song “come alive” from “the greatest show man”. The performance was at the grand exposition hall November 8th for our Annual Awards Banquet. They performed in front of 900 people and for many this was their first perfor performance. The performance was phenomenal and we at the Boys & Girls Club couldn’t be more proud of our members talents and dedication the the program. We would like to thank Tiffanie Story for her tireless efforts and passion for helping to grow our performing arts program. Arts education aids students in skills needed in the workplace: flexibility, the ability to solve problems and communicate, the ability to learn new skills, to be creative and innovative, and to strive for excellence.
omar izquierdo, age 13
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feature
Making A Difference For Our Youth Lauren SouLam, LLam, GrantS Director
W
alk through the doors of the Boys & Girls Club’s Donald L. Carano Facility, and the first person you’ll meet is Monica. From behind the front counter, she will greet you with a genuine smile and know exactly how to help you. Although she is only 17, Monica manages that front counter like a veteran, juggling phone calls, conver conversations with parents, and a constant parade of children requesting anything from a band aid for a scraped knee, to assistance with homework, to help French braiding hair because a seven-year-old member hasn’t quite mastered that feat yet. Parents know their children are in good hands with Monica each day, and many of the kids even call her their favorite staff. Monica is part of the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows (BGCTM) Leaders in Training program, a workforce development program for teens that offers real-life work experiences. She first became a Leader in Training as a high school freshman. Initially, the experience was a bit overwhelming. “Being surrounded by hordes of energetic children when you’re a shy little soul is quite the experience,” she shared. “But, it forced me to come out of my shell. Actively leading daily activities with younger Club members gave me a sense of confidence I never had experienced before.” And that sense of confidence was something she desperately needed at that point in her life. Watching Monica in action today, you would never know the demons she has overcome. In her not quite 18 years of life, Monica has faced more than her fair share of challenges that included multiple bouts of depression, suicide attempts and even a brief stay in a mental health rehabilitation hospital. Throughout her struggles, however, she had two constants: her mom and the Boys & Girls Club. “The road to recovery is never easy, but it’s also never impossible. The support I found in my mom, along with the Boys & Girls Club, helped me realize that I wasn’t completely gone. The people at the Club have become part of a second family, and today, the Carano Facility is my home away from home.” Monica’s resilience, along with her Club involvement, community service and academic achievements, earned her the
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title of BGCTM’s 2018 Youth of the Year. In November, she courageously shared her story in front of a crowd of nearly 800 attendees at the Club’s Annual Awards Banquet. Today, as a senior at Damonte Ranch High School, Monica’s future is brighter than ever. She currently holds a 4.7 GPA and is in the top ten percent of her class. Next fall, she plans to attend college and pursue a career as an emergency room nurse, a path she chose in large part due
to her experiences behind that Carano Facility front counter, where she realized just how much she enjoys helping others.
A Club for All While Monica’s story is powerful, it is not unique. She is the face of the more than 14,000 Club members that BGCTM will serve in 2018. Some, like Monica, have experienced much strife in their young lives and find a desperately needed source of stability and safety at the Club. Others come from more positive backgrounds, yet the Club still meets important needs such as providing them a place to serve their community, find academic support, connect with mentors and pursue new experiences. BGCTM was founded in 1976 with the mission to “inspire and enable youth, especially those who need us most, to become responsible, pro productive and caring citizens”. From their begin beginnings as the Boys Club serving a few dozen youth in a small facility on Terminal Way, BGCTM has grown into the leading youthserving organization in northern Nevada and now operates 22 sites spanning four counties (Washoe, Lyon, Humboldt and White Pine). At every Club site, youth can find quality programs and caring mentors to help them improve academically, build character and leadership abilities, establish healthy habits and develop the skills needed to grow into our community’s future leaders. While BGCTM has expanded significantly over the past four decades—in numbers of youth served, site locations operated and geography covered—they have remained committed to their core mission of serving those who need them most. This means keeping program fees low, offer offering an aggressive scholarship program and never turning away a child due to an inability to pay. In this way, they are a Club for all youth, providing the best possible programs and services that are fully accessible regardless of a child’s personal circumstances.
Forward Progress With 42 years of serving kids under their belts, BGCTM has developed tried and true programs and strategies for effective youth development. At the same time, nobody at the organization is remaining stagnant;
CONTinued from page 11
rather, they are consistently seeking ways to build upon, enhance and improve existing models in order to serve northern Nevada youth and families at an even higher level. This past year has been one of strategic growth in a handful of key areas:
1
Charter School Partnerships: Charter schools offer a distinctive partnership opportunity for Boys & Girls Clubs. Currently, BGCTM rents space to two local charter schools: EnCompass Academy (grades 9-12) at the Pennington Facility on Foster Drive and Mater Academy of Northern Nevada (grades K-6) at the Reynolds Facility on East 9th Street. These partnerships have allowed the organization to more fully utilize their two largest facilities during a time (the school day) when they would otherwise sit empty. Charter school partnerships have proven so successful, in fact, that plans are currently being finalized to construct a dedicated school facility on the Club’s East 9th Street property. Thanks to a generous lead gift from the William N. Pennington Foundation, the project will begin in early 2019. Once complete, Mater Academy will move into the three-story school building, which will house 18 classrooms and have a capacity of 500 students. This exciting project will cement the Reynolds Facility property as a true neighborhood center— serving many high-needs youth and families at an even higher level and providing a continuum of enhanced services from school day to afterschool to school breaks.
2
Early Learning Centers: BGCTM opened their first Early Learning Center (ELC 1) on Foster Drive in 2008. The center serves infants through age five, and today, it consistently operates at capacity, serving more than 180 children annually with a 100+ child waiting list. With this successful model built over the past ten years, and a clear community need remaining, BGCTM leadership began to seek prudent opportunities for replication. In January 2018, ELC 2 opened inside the Record Street Family Shelter to provide shelter residents with free childcare services as parents worked to get back on their feet. Building upon this momentum, earlier this year, an opportunity arose to open ELC 3 inside the Step 2 facility in Sun Valley. The center is scheduled to open in January with a capacity of 75 little ones, and they are already on track to have every spot reserved before day one.
Overall, these Early Learning Centers allow BGCTM to better serve whole families, providing an important bridge for young children to their school-aged programs, as well as offering continuity for families with children of varying ages who may utilize both types of programs. Although BGCTM’s primary purpose remains focused on serving school-aged children, their expansion into early learning has become a natural extension of their mission.
3
Program Quality: While BGCTM is proud of their long history of impact impactful programming, they also recognize that continuous improvements are necessary to maintain that level of impact into the future. In response, BGCTM has risen to the forefront within a national Boys & Girls Clubs of America initiative to create the best possible Club experience for kids. This strategy is two-fold: empower Club staff and institute a continuous quality improvement cycle. This past year, BGCTM invested in an extensive process called Youth Program Quality Intervention (YPQI). This evidencebased model is aimed at providing effective and meaningful training for staff, as well as integrating regular and strategic quality assessments to maintain the highest program quality standards. Nine BGCTM staff are now certified trainers and have begun implementing the YPQI model throughout the organization. In turn, this means bet better training for all staff, more significant program impact and an even better Club experience among members. These strategies work to reinforce the organization’s long-held “elements for positive youth development”—that is, those elements that drive program impact and keep kids coming back day after day: a safe and positive environment, fun and a sense of belonging, supportive relationships, oppor opportunities and expectations, and recognition. All of this ultimately leads us back to Monica and each individual Club member she represents. It was at the Boys & Girls Club where Monica found that place to belong, to feel valued and to find a bigger purpose. As she puts it, “My involvement at the Boys & Girls Club over the past five years has empowered me and given me the strength to pick up the fragmented pieces of my old self to form an ambitious and intelligent young lady.” Through each Club facility opened, program enhanced, and new initiative launched, this is the goal at the Boys & Girls Club. Young lives impacted, changed, transformed.
philip nguyen, age 10
brianne, age 9
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Eysia, age 13
Brianna b, age 13
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andrea melgar, age 13
Eysia, age 13
sports
Triple play – our HealtH & WellneSS initiatiVe
Kalani VaKa, Ka, SportS, FitneSS and recreation coordinator K
H
ealth and wellness are an impor important focus for the members and staff at the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. Childhood obesity rates in America, has more than tripled since the 1970s. Data has shown that 1 in 5 school age children and young people (6-19 years) in the United States has obesity. We make sure that this epidemic is addressed everyday through our Triple Play program. Triple Play is a dynamic wellness initiative that demonstrates how eating right, keeping fit and forming positive relationships add up to healthy lifestyles. Triple Play includes a suite of three programs: Healthy Habits, Daily Challenges and Social Recreation. Each program includes a complete curriculum so that Clubs can help youth learn to sustain the health of the mind, the body and the soul. The three programs were intentionally writ written so that, together, they build skills, attitudes, knowledge and behaviors that contribute to an overall healthy lifestyle. The “Body” component of Triple Play is our Daily Challenges. It promotes becoming more physically active through a variety of games, cooperative activities, and sports that develop a young person’s abil-
ity, confidence, and motivation to be physically fit. Healthy Habits is the “Mind” component of the Triple Play program. The Healthy Habits curricula focuses on making choices that support a healthy eating pattern and physical wellness. This targeted program is made up of interactive practical activities that develop a young person’s ability, confidence and motivation to eat healthy for life. The “Soul” component of the Triple Play program encompasses the social recreation activities that are critical to positive youth development. This new, targeted program builds the skills a young person needs to make healthy choices through cooperative, groupbased activities that develop a young person’s confidence in themselves and connection to others. Triple Play, a comprehensive health and wellness initiative, strives to improve the overall health of members, ages 6-18, by increasing their daily physical activity, teaching them good nutrition and helping them develop healthy relationships. Since the Triple Play initiative was introduced in 2005, more than one million Club members in the United States have participated in fun fitness activities.
alexa brown, age 10
alexandra, age 13
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Marcus, age 18
rudy robinson, age 11
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Alejandra, Age 8
Ana, Age 10
Boys & Girls CluB Movie reviews
BGCTM
Dan Pike, STeM & eDucaT uca ion DirecTor ucaT
ynolDs e R . W D l a Don Teen CenTeR RevieWs
JuManJiT
Paul, “It’s good to see what comes from playing an epic board game!” Zerrik, “It’s horrible what happens when those kids get caught in the game.” Donavin, “Good product placement of JumanjIT!”
Dwr aCTion news
Dan, “Non-stop laughter! I was rolling on the floor.” Paul says “Funny stories and good jokes” Donavin says, “So many puns!” nick says, “It was fun watching John Smith with his little kid voice. I was not aware how ridiculous they could be.”
Ms BuTTs The evil suB
Donavin, “Ms. Butts’ fingernails were crazy!” Paul, “I was on the edge of my seat worried about the children.” Dan, “No wonder she won best youth actress 2018!”
BaTTle 4 survival
Paul “I couldn’t take my eyes off the weapons and the Golden Xbox.” nick, “Hunger games and Jumanji parody” Zerrik, “A film for the ages!’”
swiss roll
Zerrik, “Wow! That acting!” Paul, “Quality film and the plot kept me watching.” nick says “Nice soundtrack!”
The ouiJa BoarD MisTake
Paul says, “Somewhat decent journey of these four youth as they travel to Mexico to find a new game that will change their lives.” Zerrik, “One of the best films I have seen this year.” Donavin, “Great Ouija board story!”
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New DoNalD l. CaraNo FaCility: youth & teeN members Irene, 8
Caiden, Age 8
What I love about the Boys & Girls club is that I get to spend time with friends and favor favorite staff’s like: Tracy, Cristina, Norma and many more. What I love about my site at DWR is that they teach me to be polite and respectful to others but most impor importantly to always be safe and happy. My favorite program is National Fine Arts because we get to show our life and dreams in drawings. One of my other favorite things that I look forward to is when we get to sit down in assembly and the coordinator tells us to be GREAT and always use our Be GREAT values but most importantly to be respectful and to teach the younger kids to have respect towards others. I’ve learned that people will respect you no matter what you look like and no matter what you draw. There Is no judgement from anyone. The reason I love my club at DWR is because the staff have seen me grow up and every time my birthday passes I feel like the Club becomes more and more important to my life. They will always be there for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to call home. Adorius Lane, 14
Lilibeth,Age 11
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I love that the Boys and Girls club is a place I can come after school and play basketball. There is a lot of great people here, staff and members alike. I love
coming here to see my friends, there are people I have known for years that come here. My favorite thing to do at the club is to play basketball and video games with my peers. I also like the Boys to Men program that has helped me mature and grow up through the club. Nathan Baskett,11
I love the Boys & Girls Club because everyone is encouraging and nice. You always have people pushing you to do your best. If I’m struggling, I always have someone to help me out. I love my site at Hidden Valley because the staff are extremely caring. They make me feel safe and they make sure everyone is having a good time. My favor favorite program is SFR. I get to exercise and play sports with my friends. SFR has made me realize that I should always maintain a healthy lifestyle. It’s important to be active, positive and caring. Andrew, 10
What I love about the Club is that I get to hang out and joke around with my friends. Also, the staff that helped me with my problem and bullies. The Lemmon Valley site is the best out of all. Even though we may be a small Club, we are strong and powerful. Here, we all like to go on field trips. I like the staff here and without them, this place would be a mess.
My favorite program is dodge ball because I get to throw a ball and get people out. What I have learned from playing dodge ball is that it’s okay to lose. In closing, Lemmon Valley Boys & Girls Club has changed my life in more than one way and for that I am thankful. Lena
What do you love about the club? I like that they give us free food. Also being able to go on comput computers during free time and to do homework. What do you love about Pennington? I like that it is close to my school and that the bus ride is sick because I get motion sick. What is your favor favorite program and why? My favorite program is Smart Girls because it removes all the boys (aka distractions/bothers) from the room. Also the staff Miss. Brittany is nice and makes it fun. What have you learned from your favor favorite program? I have learned a lot about the staff. She likes chocolate (who doesn’t?) and that she has no kids. Also I have learned a lot about what to expect in middle school and high school like puberty, boys (yuck), and other things that fall into these categories. Sometimes these can be awkward but its good to know and help me learn about making good choices.
with leaders in training Cori Fisher, leader in training Coordinator
T
he Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows provides opportunities to our teenage members to enhance their leadership abilities and learn valuable workforce development skills. These programs include Youth of the Year (Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s premier recognition program, celebrating the extraordinary achievements of Club members), our Leader in Training program (a program to develop interpersonal skills, a strong work ethic and a sense of community engagement while experiencing on-the-job Club work) and Keystone Club (a program that provides teens an opportunity to gain valuable leadership and service experience.) JJ Bolinger and Monica Okopal are BGCTM’s 2018 Youth of the Year and offer a great insight into the daily life of our teenage members involved in the programs listed above.
Rylee, Age 10
JJ Bolinger
Monica Okopal
What got you into BGCTM’s leadership programs? “I thought that I was a good face for the Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows and I wanted to give back to the Club after everything they have done for me.” What is one important lesson you have learned as a Leader in Training? “The most important lesson I’ve learned is to be patient. Things will work in your favor whether you know it or not.” What leaders inspire you to be a better leader? “Oprah Winfrey. She comes from humble beginnings and uses her story to show that anyone can reach their goals no matter the situation. She is a true inspiration to almost everyone.”
What is your favorite part of the Club? “My favorite part of the Club is the community it offers to all of its members. Whoever steps foot into our facilities will find a welcoming environment. There are so many supportive and encouraging staff who are willing to give anyone a shoulder to lean on that they may not have anywhere else. The people here offer a system of kindness and support that I just absolutely adore.” Why are you a leader? “I’m a leader because I want to guide others toward a better path. In a world full of negative images and forces coming from every which way, I want to be a positive outlet for my peers and others to turn to. I want to be a model that even in this insane world, there is still good and that others can still achieve said good.”
Ellanore, age 8 Tatiana, Age 9
A special advertising supplement to Reno News & Review DECEMBER 20, 2018
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Happy Holidays From rENo NEws & rEviEw
Thank you to all the businesses who support the Boys and Girls Club.