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Featured Youth of the Month
BEL AIR CLUB
Youth of the Month
**Kevin L.**
Kevin, age 12, has been an active member at our Bel Air Club since January 2013. He has displayed leadership skills by helping our younger members with homework during Power Hour, helping in the art room during craft time, and by participating weekly in Passport to Manhood and Torch Club. He is working to overcome his shyness and is making many new friends.
Kevin looks out for the other kids making sure no one is picked on or left without help. His favorite activities include the art room and the game room and gym. He credits Mr. Jens for being his mentor and "being there for him" when he is in need.
"The Boys & Girls Club is important to me because everyone is so caring and loving here. I have learned a lot. It's a great environment."
-Kevin, Age 12
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Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County Provides Free Shoes to 150 Children through Payless Program
Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County is pleased to announce that as a select partner of Payless Gives
TM Shoes 4 Kids, we were able to provide 150 Club members with new shoes recently. Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County is among 750 charitable agencies representing all 50 US states, as well as Canada, Puerto Rico, and 11 Latin American countries.
To some children, shoes are a collection. They have a pair for every activity. To others, shoes are the reason they can't participate in gym class, can't compete in basketball, or can't play in the snow. Payless Gives
TM Shoes 4 Kids seeks to reach those children in need and help make their day a little brighter by providing them new shoes.
Every year, over 5,000 young people are served by Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County. Our mission is to inspire and enable all youth, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. The Clubs are open to all youth ages 6 to 18 and provide positive youth development programs during out-of school time.
Tim Wills, Executive Director and Chief Kid Officer of Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County, stated, "We are thrilled to have been re-selected as a Payless Gives partner for the 3rd time. Like Boys & Girls Clubs, Payless Gives is about removing barriers and opening the door for kids to achieve success. Many wouldn't think about how a child's footwear could possibly interfere with that success, but all too often children are turned away from activities and opportunities because their parents can't afford to outfit them with the proper footwear every time they outgrow their shoes. After 25 years of service in our community, we are looking to ensure that every Harford County child is given an equal opportunity to reach their own Great Future."
This is the sixth year of the Payless Gives
TM Shoes 4 Kids program. To date, this program has provided more than $6.5 million in free shoes. Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County has helped 450 local kids get free shoes through the program throughout our 3 year partnership. By helping families who struggle to provide their children with basic essentials on a daily basis, Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County in partnership with the Payless Gives
TM program, hopes to relieve some of the stress parents feel and bring joy to as many children as possible.
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Every child follows a path in life. For many that path will lead them to a door ... a door that gives them a place to learn, to grow, to belong ... a place to forge Great Futures. For 25 years the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County have opened their blue doors to over 35,000 County youth. Today, when you walk into a Club, you can see a lot of exciting new things such as STEM labs, high definition music studios, and hot meals at dinner time. Incredibly, Club members continue to pay just $20 a school year. We are thrilled to celebrate our 25th anniversary with you at what has become the largest non-profit event in Harford County, our annual Steak & Burger Dinner.
Read on to discover more about the dinner and check out all of our highlights below to learn more about what we are doing to encourage, inspire, and support #GreatFutures.
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Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County Celebrate 25th Anniversary with FREE Dinner
Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County is redefining non-profit events by celebrating its 25th Anniversary of serving local youth with FREE admission to the County's largest non-profit event-- the annual Steak & Burger / Youth of the Year Awards Dinner.
To be held on Thursday, March 26, 2015, the award ceremony and dinner is an annual celebration honoring the local finalists from the four clubs in the national Youth of the Year competition as well as a thank you to business partners, donors, parents and kids. Last year's dinner saw over 800 business leaders in attendance at the APG FCU Arena where the event will be held again this year.
"We wanted to do something that hasn't been done before to really commemorate our silver anniversary," says Tim Wills, Chief Kid Officer (Executive Director). "This is the largest non-profit event in the County so we thought what better way to say 'thank you' to our supporters and families then to offer complimentary tickets to anyone who wants to attend."
"The dinner will be transformed from its format in previous years to a "giving event," explains Board President, Jeff Foulk, CEO Survice Engineering. "This is our organization's largest fundraising event of the year, and we'll be asking attendees to contribute to the lives of youth in Harford County while hearing directly from those young people. The night is about making a real investment in our counties future."
"In Harford County our large non-profit community hosts hundreds of events, sells tickets and seeks companies for sponsorships," adds Wills. "At the Clubs, we believe in being transformational not transactional. That is the heart of what we are doing this year. Every day we are transforming kids' lives. At this event you will hear that story and be provided the opportunity to help us transform more."
As is the tradition at the event, Club kids in attendance are served steak while the adults dine on burgers, a symbolic gesture recognizing the importance of the youth we serve. "The kids get a kick out of being treated like grown-ups during the evening, and the adults play along making it a big deal as well," says Wills. Texas Roadhouse in Fallston is the Presenting Sponsor for the third year in a row, donating all the dinner entrees, side dishes, and salads.
The evening also includes honoring the four Club finalists and announcing the Harford County winner for the Youth of the Year competition-the highest honor a Club kid can achieve. The winner goes on to the state level competition. An inspirational speaker is also featured with that announcement forthcoming.
Tickets are limited and will sell out soon. To reserve your complimentary tickets please call 410-272-0010 or go online at
www.bgcharfordco.org/s&b.
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As apart of our 25th Anniversary Year, Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County is pleased to announce our first annual "Connecteen" Harford Teen Summit on Tuesday, March 24th from 4:30-7:30pm at The John Carroll School. This event is open to all high school students in Harford County.
Most county business leaders are familiar with the ConnectHarford event that brings together citizens from every facet of the county to discuss relevant issues in our community. Recognizing the need to bring our Teens into this conversation, Harford's ConnecTeen will serve as an opportunity to gather local Teens to discuss issues effecting them throughout the county. Teen Drug Use and Job Readiness/Availability have been selected as the first two topics to be discussed at the summit, with the third being decided on by the participants. We will also be serving dinner at the start of the event, which means that spaces are limited.
Please RSVP with the number of attendants no later than March 20th to register. This is a FREE event so we expect to run out of spaces quickly.
RSVP HERE or contact Derek Dewitt at
410-688-8663 or [email protected]
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Warm Hands, Warm Hearts
Our friends at Extreme Family Outreach visited our Windsor Valley Branch in Edgewood recently to distribute hats, gloves, snacks, and hugs... and Panera Bread to some truly remarkable kids.... It was freezing outside, but there was lots of warmth and excitement on the inside of Boys & Girls Club of Windsor Valley. Extreme Family Outreach has been of incredible support to our Youth at Windsor Valley, and on behalf of all our kids, we want to say thanks!
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Please Touch!
Club members in the Edgewood Science Explorers tried lots of new things during their Club time last month. They experimented with stains in fabrics (hint: they learned that kids who like to get dirty should wear polyester!), and then met with Ms. Jen from warpedweavers.org, a weaving guild, to learn all about making fabric. Ms. Jen used her background in STEM to create what she calls "beautiful math," fabric designs that require math to create the patterns. Thanks to Mr. Greg and Ms. Jen for another engaging evening of STEM in our Clubs!
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| Ms. Jen from Warped Weavers helps Eli, a third grader at our Edgewood Boys & Girls Club with the weaving machine. |
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BGC STEM DIRECTOR WINS VISIONARY AWARD
Hooray for our STEM Director, Susan Ciavolino! Organized by the Northeastern Maryland Technology Council (NMTC), the Visionary Awards is the only regional event that celebrates our distinguished Harford County neighbors and colleagues making a difference in STEM Education and to technological advancement in our community. Ms. Susan was recently recognized for her advancement of the STEM program, better known as i3STEM, at Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County. We are honored everyday Ms. Susan works with us to promote Great STEM Futures right here in Harford County!
Recently, Ms. Susan was invited on Comcast Newsmakers to talk briefly about our STEM program. Yolanda Vazquez speaks with Ms. Susan about why STEM is important, our recently released kid-created phone app, the viral STEM Happy video, and how to get more girls involved in science and technology.
Watch for yourself right Now!
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STEM at
Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County |
Haven't seen our VIRAL STEM video? View it Here!
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