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As we come to
the closing days of the 2013 Boys & Girls Club of Garfield Summer program,
we have so much to celebrate and so much to be excited about.
This summer the Club served more children than any summer in its history – more
than 200 at both Garfield Middle School and at 490 Midland Avenue for a total of
almost 500 kids in Summer programs. Members and their parents all have told us
how much fun they’ve had, how supportive the counselors have been and that they
can’t wait to come back next year or to register for our after-school programs beginning
Sept. 9.
Every fall, kids look forward to seeing their friends back at school, while parents
are focused on ensuring that there children are achieving at high academic levels.
All parents want their children to BE GREAT!
But the reality is that too many of our kids aren’t achieving at the
levels we would like them to. The Boys & Girls Club can help with
that.
Club members know they can BE GREAT because
we have created a seamless network of support for them, with more than 4,000
Boys & Girls Clubs across the country where caring, concerned adults tell
them so every day.
The Club’s emphasis on education pays off for youth. According to a National Harris
Survey of Boys & Girls Club alumni:
-
90% of alumni
graduate from high school or obtain a GED;
-
Nearly two-thirds
reported that Club staff contributed to their success in high school;
-
70% credited their
time at the Club as helping them discover subject areas they enjoyed.
The Boys & Girls Club of Garfield
provides the same kind of academic support for the children we serve. Every
year kids who attend the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield attribute much of
their success in school to their time spent in our after-school program. Recent
Garfield High School graduate and 2013 Boys & Girls Club of Garfield Youth
of the Year Jasmine Cubuk credits the Club with the assistance it provided
while in high school.
The other
thing that we all look forward to in the fall is football season! In only six
months, the center of the pro football universe will be in our backyard for the
Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium. As the region prepares for the big game, the
kids here at the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield are preparing for the fourth
season of Garfield Junior Boilermaker Football -- and hopefully a return trip
to the Bergen Passaic Youth Football League Super Bowl.
Each night our
kids ages 6-14 in four separate divisions conduct their football drills. I am
amazed and thrilled by the commitment that our coaches, parents, volunteers and
staff have to them. And it is wonderful how hard these youngsters work to
improve on the field and strive to reach the levels of some of those players who
came before them.
Growing up at
the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield and in the City of Champions, we
frequently remind our members that anything is possible. Just look at our
outstanding Alumni: former San Diego Charger Luis Castillo, Dallas Cowboy Miles
Austin III, and former New York Jet Wayne Chrebet.
All of them spent a significant amount of time as members of the Boys &
Girls Club of Garfield, requiring as much guidance and attention as any other
kid on the block. They all joined in counselor-led enrichment activities, where
they learned important values such as teamwork, sportsmanship, respect and
trustworthiness. It’s these lessons that Former NY Jet Wayne Chrebet still
cherishes: “You learned a lot about the importance of relationships,” he said.
“You learned to trust the kids around you and to play the best for each other.
Belonging to the Boys & Girls Club is a huge advantage because you learn
more than just sports. You learn about life.”
In the 54 years
since its opening, the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield has been a positive
force in the lives of local youth. Besides athletes, its alumni have gone on to
become politicians, doctors, dentists, lawyers, and more. “I think maybe the
biggest thing is that you start young learning to be a good kid, learning to
respect the counselors,” Chrebet said, “but most of all learning the importance
of hard work.“
Wayne still
remembers his two favorite people at the club, former program director, Glen
Staron and traveling basketball coach Steve Wienick.
“I really loved the Pacers, our traveling basketball team,” he said. “It was
the first activity that allowed me to meet with kids from other schools.”
“I didn’t play right away,” Chrebet said, laughing. “Steve, Coach Weinick, was
always getting on me. Because of him, I learned that if you want something, you
gotta work on it. That’s the first time that I really realized that hard work
really does pay off.
“I think maybe the best thing about the place is that I made lifelong friends
there—not just counselors or administrators.”
They remember Wayne, too. “I can still see him running around the club,” Staron
said. “He was a real go-getter, a very determined kid with a unique ability to
focus on what he wanted and then do everything in his power to achieve it. I
saw that in him even when he was just a kid.”
“I see Wayne as a testament to the work we do as an organization,” he added. “The
Club has always been an anchor in the community for the youth—a true pioneer in
youth development. I’m very proud of the work we do.”
Chrebet not
only provides tangible proof that you really can be anything you want to be if
you put your mind to it. He has also become an ambassador for the club,
extolling its positive impact on his life and leaving us with some advice: “Kids,
listen and learn! The things you learn there will help you the rest of your
life.”
“Remember, the biggest thing is have fun,” he said. “Turn off the video games
and the television. Get out there and run around, go experience life the real
away. As for parents, I’d say the Club is a great way to have your child
experience life. The younger years are the most impressionable and this place
has programs that reflect the kinds of values you want them to learn, the kinds
of values you teach them at home. I know if I lived in Garfield, my sons would
be involved with the Club. I had an absolute blast there.“
The Boys
& Girls Club of Garfield provides programs and services to ensure that
children achieve at high levels academically, live healthy lifestyles and
develop strong character and citizenship to contribute in a positive way to
their community. In short, we make sure that Great Futures Start Here. For more information about any of our Club
programs please visit our website at www.bgcgarfield.org or call 973-478-7662.
