Celebrating Summer Success and the Excitement of the Fall

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.