Boys and Girls Club builds skills for tomorrow ’ s leaders
You don ’ t have to convince Monroe Middle School rising eighth grader Robert Smith that the Salvation Army ’ s Boys and Girls Club is a great place to grow and learn . He ’ s been coming for three years .
“ I enjoy the educational field trips ,” he said . “ We went to Cane Creek Park recently and they showed us how to build a tepee in the woods ; how to build things where you can take shelter in case it rains . I also enjoy meeting new people .”
Tamya Austin , also a rising eighth grader at Monroe Middle , has only been coming to the Boys and Girls Club about a year , but in that year she said she has not only learned a lot through the educational field trips they ’ ve taken , but has also learned a great deal about herself .
“ The best part for me is coming here every day and being around kids who want to learn and enjoy being with each other ,” she said . “ The club helps students see the different possible outcomes of their future and it helps them decide what they want to be when they grow up . I want to go to college so I can be a teacher .”
One thing that has helped Tamya make the decision to be a teacher is her role within the club as a student staff member , where she serves as a mentor to younger elementary students .
“ I work with 6- , 7- and 8-year-olds ,” she said . “ I enjoy that because I get to serve in a leadership role .”
Robert said the benefit of the Boys and Girls Club is the impact it can have on students who may be choosing the wrong path . “ They teach smart moves and how to make the right choices .”
There are two UCPS schools that host the Boys and Girls Club : Monroe Middle ( in its fifth year ) and East Union Middle ( starting its third year ). The fee for students is only $ 5 per child each year , which is an effort to keep the cost as low as possible in order to serve all families .
The clubs serve first- through 12th grade , from 6 to 18 years old . The majority of students in the program come from elementary school , but there are also a lot of students from middle school .
The club ’ s Union County area director David McQueen said there are high school students who participate , as well , but they usually serve as “ junior staff ” who mentor the younger students .
“ They are not volunteers ,” McQueen said . “ They are club members , but they ’ re coming as peer mentors who come to work with the kids .”
This fits in nicely with the club ’ s mission , which is to “ enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive , caring and responsible citizens .”
“ We want to make sure that when they leave here at the end of the day , they ’ ve learned something , having seen something , been able to do something that they wouldn ’ t have had otherwise , and that it ’ s had a positive impact on their lives ,” McQueen said . To help in that effort , the club provides homework help , classes in character building , health and nutrition programs , lessons in such areas as gang awareness , conflict resolution , and how to react appropriately
to peer pressure .
“ We want to make sure that we ’ re reinforcing what other people , school and their families are already trying to give them ,” McQueen said . “ You can ’ t have too much of lessons like that .” The program is open to any student in Union County , as long as he or she has the transportation to get to the school . Transportation is provided for students who come from the Monroe Middle and East Union Middle feeder schools .
McQueen said the clubs are actively trying to grow . “ There are thousands of students in Union County , and we ’ re only serving a few hundred . Not everyone needs a Boys and Girls Club . It ’ s not the program for everybody , but it ’ s the program for a lot of kids . There are a lot who can ’ t come because of space , because of staff resources or just because of location . Our goal is to make sure that as many kids as possible , who need us , are able to get to us and the only way that ’ s going to happen is with the support of the community .”
McQueen said the clubs rely heavily on volunteers . “ We have people who just come to play board games on Friday , or want to play basketball or read to a group of students . If someone has a skill or an art or passion that they ’ re willing to share , then we probably have a program or a curriculum through Boys and Girls Club that we can assign to them to use with the kids .”
For those who may want to volunteer , but do not feel the call to work with students , there are other options . “ There is always a way for someone to get involved , whether it ’ s financial resources or on a volunteer basis ,” McQueen said . “ There is some way to get involved .”
The club is actively seeking volunteers to sit on the Boys and Girls board . “ This is an advisory group made up of Union County residents and business leaders who appreciate that what we ’ re doing is not only good for the organization , but for the community , as well ,” McQueen said . “ These are the kids who are the next wave of business leaders and politicians who will make an impact , hopefully , in Union County .” Even though the Union County clubs are part of the Greater Charlotte organization , money raised in Union County through fundraisers , grants and community contributions , stay in Union County .
Brent Rinehart , director of communications and public relations with the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Charlotte , said these fund-raisers are vital to the health of the clubs .
“ The more resources you have , the greater impact you can have ,” Rinehart said . The next fund-raiser is the second annual Clays for Kids competition , to be held on Oct . 28 at Meadowood Farms in Waxhaw .
For more information about the Boys and Girls Clubs in Union County , call McQueen at 980-215-3326 or email him at david . mcqueen @ uss . salvationarmy . org . — This article was provided by the Union County Public Schools Communications Office .
4 • Sept / Oct 2016 • Parent Teacher News