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- Dancing With Our Stars Returns
- Summer Camp Scholarship Program
- SCF Gives Back to Boys & Girls Club
- Youth of the Year
- We have gone Mobile!
- Board Member Spotlight: Ross Hodges
- Paying it Forward-Friendly City Car Wash!
Emcee's Beth Green & John Vita warming up for their big number!
Please join us on May 19th at 6pm for our 2nd Dancing With “Our Stars” Event. Being held at our Palmetto Boys & Girls Club, come see the gym transformed into a beautiful ballroom! Beth Green & John Vita will Emcee the evening that will include tapas from Pier 22, libations and live entertainment from The Shaman Band. Come see our “celebrity” dancers, Whiting Preston, Larry McGary, Darryl Weaver, Greg Campbell, John & Diane Tucker along with last year’s champs, Tracey Vita and Steve Peebles. Our judges for the evening will be Corky Taylor, Trudy Moon and Tom P Moseley. Needless to say, it should be an entertaining and fun evening! Come support our mission. All proceeds of Dancing With Our Stars go directly to the programs and operations of our 6 clubs and the 6,000 children we serve.
GREAT SUMMERS START HERE.
According to Johns Hopkins University Center for Summer Learning, at least 11% of children between the ages of 6 & 12 care for themselves over the summer months (unsupervised). Together, through our OPEN THE DOOR Summer Camp Campaign, we can ensure that every child is safe, healthy and engaged in learning during the summer! Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County are the generous recipient of a matching grant for our summer scholarship campaign. For every dollar we raise, it will be matched (up to $35,000). Here’s how you can help:
$25 = match = 1 week scholarship & annual dues PLUS 1 field trip for 1 child
$50 + match = Educational field trips for 5 children
$75 + match = Full 9 week scholarship for 3 teens
$100 + match = Full 9 week scholarship for 1 child
Our Summer Camp Program runs for 9 weeks and our doors are open 11 hour per day – 7am to 6pm; M-F. Not only do we NOT charge for these extended hours, but we also provide the children lunch each day. Each Club has field trips to places like Jungle Gardens, Mote Marine, local parks, bowling alleys, roller skating rinks and more! Our children get to experience the fun of free time during the summer as well as opportunities to continue their reading development, time in our technology labs, sports clinics and Career Camps for our older participants. We are a premiere program that offers FUN, excitement and learning in a safe, structured environment. Our program is staffed with well trained, caring & professional people who strive to make every day of summer camp an adventure!
Help us Close the Door to: boredom, loneliness, poor eating, mischievousness, learning loss, poor decisions and trouble making! And help us OPEN THE DOOR to: Fun, Friends, Technology, Field Trips, Music, Learning, Sports and healthy living!
Click here for PDF and more information: Summer Camp Scholarship
John Johnson, Boys & Girls Club member relaxes in the dental chair as Dr. Robert Hynton ensures he is getting proper preventative dental care.
Correspondent
State College of Florida’s first- and second-year dental hygiene students are helping Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County members get dental treatment.
The Manatee County Dental Society and the Manatee-Sarasota Dental Hygiene Association are working with the students to help club members who attend Harllee Middle and Daughtrey Elementary schools.
About six times a year, the hand-picked club youths visit volunteer dentists and hygienists at the clinic, receiving free cleanings, X-ray exams, fluoride treatments, sealants and fillings from volunteers.
On March 24, Boys & Girls Club member John Johnson, 10, reclined in a dental chair in the SCF clinic as Dr. Robert Hynton examined his teeth for free.
“This is a way the dental society can give back to community through a select group of kids that otherwise would not have a way to see the dentist,” said Hynton, community health chairman of the society. “So, we partner with the Boys & Girls Club, SCF and its school of dental hygiene to help youth in preventative care and restorative work.”
Hynton said the mission for the volunteer dentists is to instill in the youth a better understanding of why they need to take care of their teeth, how they need to take care of their teeth and the long-term benefits of preventative care.
John gave two thumbs-up from the chair. After a morning in the classroom learning about dental hygiene health, Hynton casually talked him through the examination and cleaning.
Anita Weaver, the college’s director of the dental hygiene program and founder of the community collaboration, was there to ensure 20 club youths saw one of five volunteer dentists.
“Some of these children are seeing a dentist for the first time, and that tells us there’s lack of care in the neighborhood,” Weaver said.
She said the lack of treatment for the youth might be based on a lack of transportation and money.
“If we can get the child here, then we can try to get them checked out,” she said. “We are giving dental students an opportunity to practice, and although they don’t perform services, they do everything else. The networking is truly amazing.”
The society’s volunteer dentists tend to return each time the clinic is offered on Saturdays, Hynton said, and they get hooked on helping out youths whose teeth are transitioning from primary to adult teeth.
Dental hygiene students also make connections with local dentists and their offices, often lining up work for when their two-year program is completed.
Magdalena Toporowicz, a second-year hygiene student, said her classroom colleagues were all at the clinic to help the children and practice their newly acquired skills.
While the children may start the day a little stressed and shaky, the best part is seeing their smiles at the end, Tomorowicz said as she sat beside club member Marlenni Caballero, 12, a seventh-grader at Harllee.
“They made three fillings today,” Marlenni said. “Yes, I was kind of scared because they put a needle in my gums, but they also helped me to keep my teeth clean, and I think it was a really good experience.”
- Tyler Waid, Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County Youth of the Year
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County is proud to announce that Tyler Waid has been selected as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County 2012 Youth of the Year. Waid, age 18 & a senior at Southeast High School, is a true example of an extraordinary youth. Tyler is among hundreds of local Youth of the Year winners across the country recognized by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) for sound character, leadership skills and willingness to give back to the community.
Being named Youth of the Year is the highest honor a Boys & Girls Club member can receive. The title recognizes outstanding contributions to a member’s family, school, community and Boys & Girls Club, as well as personal challenges and obstacles overcome. This program was founded over 61 years ago through the generosity of the Reader’s Digest Foundation.
Tyler Waid has been a member of the Southeast High School branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County for the past 4 ½ years.
”Four years ago when I joined the Club, it was merely a place to hang out with friends after school. However, I quickly became more involved. I have been given the opportunity to use my talents and explore my interests in technology and medicine. The Club has provided me and many of my fiends the materials and guidance to succeed in school and extracurricular activities and teams. Before I was in the Club, I was quiet and kept to myself both at school and home. But now, I have taken leadership positions in my school, community and home because the Club gave me the confidence to do so.” Tyler Waid, 2012 Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County – Youth of the Year.
Tyler threw the first pitch and was introduced to the crowd at the Pirates game on March 26th. He will represent the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County at the Florida State Youth of the Year conference April 15-17, 2012 being held in Tampa.
We are excited to announce BGC Manatee!
Now available on the iPhone/iPad App Store! BGC Manatee allows you to stay current with our exciting news, get our calendar of events, watch videos & visit our website to donate on the spot! BGC Manatee lets you stay connected with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County anywhere-anytime! Compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad. Must have iOS 5.0 or later.
Board Member Spotlight: Ross Hodges, President BGC Corporate Board of Directors
Ross Hodges, Angela Lindsay and Carl Weeks at the new Daughtrey Elementary Club opening
Ross’s father hails from Amarillo Texas where he was an only child raised by his mother, a single parent. His dad grew up in the Boys Club, the Amarillo Mavericks Boys Club. He credits the involvement of the caring adults and coaches at that club as being a major influence in his life that kept him out of trouble and out of the bad choices he saw others make. Ross’s father joined the Navy and went on to become a teacher and married Ross’s mom, also a teacher. Ross’s dad also coached basketball at the Boys & Girls Club for many years. Ross is the eldest of four children and his parents now have fifteen grandchildren and two great grand-children.
Ross attended the Florida Council Meeting of the Boys & Girls Clubs and heard a young man deliver a moving speech about how the Boys & Girls Club had changed his life. The young man now has college goals. He received an award from the Council for his outstanding achievement as a club member in spite of many personal challenges for him and his family.
Ross remarked after hearing his speech, “It is not just the positive changes in one individual’s life that can be credited to Boys & Girls Clubs, that is remarkable in itself, but there are generational changes for the good that will continue to payoff for that individual’s children and grandchildren, just as my father’s Club experiences did for me and my brothers and sisters.”
Ross worked many dirty, hot jobs over summers in Texas on his family’s ranch, including bailing cotton and running cattle. One day his grandfather took him to town to go to the bank. It was one of a very few air conditioned buildings in the town, and that is when he decided he wanted to become a banker, like the nicely dressed man in his three piece suit in a cool building. Ross plans to meet with club members to share some of his personal experiences with them and learn about their goals and aspirations.
As President of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County Ross will be working to build strategic partnerships in the community. He plans to showcase the results that support the three critical areas of the achievement for club members including academic success and post high school goals, good character and citizenship and healthy lifestyles. “My vision for the Boys & Girls Clubs is to see more kids, attending more often and in more places,” Ross said.
Visit Friendly City Car Wash today!
3511 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton, Fl 34205
3015 53rd Avenue East, Bradenton, Fl 34203
Each time a customer uses code 692582 (MYCLUB) on the Gold Wash, they will receive $1 instant discount on the GOLD WASH and $1 comes back to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County!
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We are The Positive Place for Kids. In every community, boys and girls are left to find their own recreation and companionship in the streets. An increasing number of children are at home with no adult care or supervision. Young people need to know that someone cares about them. That's where the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County comes in. We currently operate 6 Clubs, serving over 3,000 children. A recent study showed that Florida Boys & Girls Club members have lower rates of absenteeism at all grade levels, and significantly lower rates of serious criminal offenses.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County has been providing hope and opportunity to children for over 60 years. Our mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. You can make a difference in the life of a child by investing your time or financial support at one of our clubs. If you would like to donate your time, talent or treasure to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County, please call us at (941) 761-CLUB.
Great futures start here…
