.png)
Good morning,
The Boys & Girls Club of Garfield facility at 490 Midland Avenue was, as many of you already know the victim of vandalism early Friday morning. As cleanup was taking place a conversation began between staff from the Garfield YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield.
Through this conversation we quickly realized that young man who damaged the Club needed our help more than many of the kids we serve each day. If this young man had been a Club member and had the appropriate support system he would most likely would not have gone down this road. Does he need to learn from this terrible behavior? Yes, absolutely and he will face his day in court. But, as the mission of the club is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens we all agreed that maybe things would have been different had we reached this young man. We hope he will find the resolve to turn his life around and become one of these productive members of our community.
The Boys & Girls Club of Garfield facility at 490 Midland Avenue was, as many of you already know the victim of vandalism early Friday morning. As cleanup was taking place a conversation began between staff from the Garfield YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield.
Through this conversation we quickly realized that young man who damaged the Club needed our help more than many of the kids we serve each day. If this young man had been a Club member and had the appropriate support system he would most likely would not have gone down this road. Does he need to learn from this terrible behavior? Yes, absolutely and he will face his day in court. But, as the mission of the club is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens we all agreed that maybe things would have been different had we reached this young man. We hope he will find the resolve to turn his life around and become one of these productive members of our community.
As the day progressed we focused on the cleanup and our staff was more than ready for the close to 500 kids we served on Friday and for our 2013 prom for children 6-13 and their families was a tremendous success. As I watched children and their families dance in the gym it was so satisfying to know that we were providing a supportive, fun, and safe environment for our members.
The resolve of our organization was tested and although the facility was vandalized, our organization, staff, and volunteers decided that, "what doesn't kill us will make us stronger!"
To all those who reached out to us over the last few days we say thank you for your kind words of support, friendship, and donations. Our commitment to help the children of Garfield and surrounding communities is unmatched and we want you to be part of that.
For information on getting
more involved please call us at 973 478 7662 or email me at pcasey@bgcgarfield.org or visit our website at www.bgcgarfield.org.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
Paul J. Casey
CEO, Boys & Girls Club of Garfield
No comments:
Post a Comment