Boys and Girls Club gears up for summer activities
Will hold fundraisers to help offset costs
Even though school’s almost out, the local Boys and Girls Club is offering plenty of activities for local kids with its camps and other summer programs.
The club, located on Monroe Avenue, is best known for providing after-school care for the city’s students at $10 per year, freeing parents up to work more hours every day. And the summer day camp program will offer care for children from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. five days per week.
“Kids will get here at 8 a.m. and they’re broken into different age groups,” marketing officer Jaclyn Boruch said. “They rotate from the gym to the pool to the game room, computer lab and arts and crafts,” breaking for meals at lunch and dinner time.
Through the summer Share a Talent program, locals can volunteer to teach Boys and Girls Club participants about their favorite passion, whether it is yoga, pottery or arts and crafts. In the past, Surfrider Foundation member and local restaurateur Marilyn Schlossbach gave the children surf lessons during summer camp, Boruch said.
Boys and Girls Clubs New Jersey — the alliance connecting the clubs throughout the state — recently released an economic impact study on the clubs’ effect on families and communities. Boruch shared some of the statewide statistics with the Asbury Park Sun.
“Without Boys and Girls Clubs, more than 10,000 parents would have to put their careers on hold and reduce their income,” Boruch said. “For every dollar spent by Boys and Girls Clubs in New Jersey, $15 of positive economic activity is generated in the local community.”
And the high school graduation rate for Boys and Girls Club members in Asbury Park is 99 percent, compared to 24 percent citywide, Boruch said, thanks in part to the club’s tutoring programs. Boys and Girls Club volunteers and staffers also take high-school-aged students on college tours and work to prepare them for the SAT.
Summer camp officially begins June 25. At camp, students will hone their technology skills thanks to the Best Buy Geek Squad; take part in a Jazz Arts Academy; and have their own talent show on Labor Day in Bradley Park.
In addition to all the activities, kids will be fed every day thanks to the Summer Food Service Program, a federal initiative of the United States Department of Agriculture.
The Boys and Girls Club is also holding several major fundraisers this summer, one of which is taking place all summer at local parties throughout the area. Through the Summer of 100 Parties initiative, the club will raise funds all summer by providing Boys and Girls Club materials, videos and presenters for hosts to display at any party all summer. Party guests can donate to the Boys and Girls Club if they choose. Anyone who wants more information on the Summer of 100 Parties can contact Connie Leonard at 732-775-7862 or connie@bgcmonmouth.org.
“The kids love being here,” Boruch said of the club. “They feel safe here. A lot of them tell us, as they get older, that they learned how to have a backbone and a family here.”
