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BGCG Connections
May 12, 2020
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Stay connected with BGCG while we're apart
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Number of infections. Number of hospitalizations. Number of deaths. Stay in place orders. Schools closure extended. Social distancing. Masks in public.
These are the topics of every news station and media source in the country right now. There are daily reminders that there is an invisible "enemy" that threatens our personal safety every day. Over the past several weeks, the precautions we have taken to minimize our personal and the public's risk have seemed to produce a new problem that many are contending with: emotional and psychological struggles.
There are no masks that will make you deal with the constant barrage of feeling like you are perpetually in danger. There is no hand sanitizer that cleanses your spirit when you feel lonely or miss your family and friends. I have watched psychological experts speak on the topic and read some articles and scholarly publications about how to deal with these new emotions. But I am a very practical person. I wanted to know what real people, like me, are doing to cope with all that is happening today.
I asked the incredible Staff of the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich to tell me how they are managing their emotional fragility, fears and concerns while strictly following the guidelines provided by health officials. Below are the responses I received. They reminded me that in these moments, small things matter so much! I wanted to share their activities with you in hopes that you will find a pearl of wisdom or a suggestion that might help you through these difficult days.
- Listening to instrumental music
- Reading and working in the yard
- Going for walks and exercising. I'm calling family members and my elderly friends checking in on them and reconnecting, and not watching the news before bed.
- Walking every day and finishing with yoga or a weight workout and take a few nights to just read in quiet. Helping others and getting to see co-workers when volunteering.
- Being home with my family, playing a lot of ping pong with my sons, and just talking to them. Taking walks every day.
- Watching a lot of DJs and producers play live sets on Instagram and YouTube nightly. Baby Face going against Teddy Riley was great.
- Taking a daily walk and playing cards every night with my family. We have never had so much uninterrupted time before - a real treat.
- The ritual of our whole family sitting down together every night for dinner has been amazing.
- Watched a seminar with New Canaan Library on organic lawn care.
- Revisiting Shakespeare's sonnets, which are amazingly beautiful.
- Doing some vegetable gardening.
- Talking to my children a lot more than usual.
- Breaking out my guitar that I haven't touched in 20 years. Can't sing anymore! LOL.
- Garage workouts, jogging, moped rides, ping pong, perfecting my golf swing, and lots of family stuff.
- Completing small projects around the house.
These simple, real-world suggestions reminded me that I need to find and remember those things that make me happy. My youngest and I have reignited our love affair with the
Harry Potter
series. My son and I have had the most animated debates about who is better, Lebron James or Michael Jordan. My oldest daughter and I have been discussing her hopes and dreams for college next year and her possible career choices. My wife and I love telling our kids what great athletes we were a very long time ago! And I have reconnected with my love affair of old-school 80s R&B and funk music!
Find those small things that bring you joy. Reconnect with old friends. Cook a new dish. Support a local small business that has remained open. Every little thing you do will bring you that much-needed injection of happiness and hope that we all could use now.
Bobby Walker, Jr.
CEO
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Thank You to Our Supporters!
Thank you to everyone who has supported our Gratitude Tuesday campaign and
stood with the youth of Greenwich. Without the generosity of our community, we would not be able to continue our robust virtual programming schedule, counseling services and food donations that have kept us connected with our members.
Thank you for believing in us and our mission as we continue to build
#GreatFutures in our community.
If you did not get a chance to give, you can
donate here to add your support. Thank you!
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Save the Date - Saturday, September 12
While we realize that there are so many things to think about right now, we hope you will save the date for Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich's
Annual Benefit on
Saturday, September 12, 2020.
We are currently evaluating our options for a typical in-person party versus pivoting to a modified event on that date. We certainly look forward to celebrating with you when it is safe to do so.
We can't wait to see you all in person!
Co-chairs:
Samantha Mollett & Erin Stern
Decor Co-chairs:
Lisa Errico & Ashlee Morningstar
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Neighbor to Neighbor Snapshot
Thanks to
Amanda Kaye Photography for capturing these fantastic images of BGCG staff members volunteering at Neighbor to Neighbor! Click here to see all of the images.
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Shop on AmazonSmile and Amazon will donate to BGCG!
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at
smile.amazon.com, you'll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that
Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to BGCG.
Get started with these easy steps:
2. Sign in. Simply use your existing Amazon credentials. If you don't have an account, you can create a new one.
3. Start shopping! After you've chosen BGCG, your shopping experience will be the same as it is on the Amazon website. And there's no extra cost for you at checkout! Amazon will donate 0.5 percent of your purchase to BGCG.
Sign up and start shopping!
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International Water Safety Day #GetInAgain Challenge
On
May 15, aquatics enthusiasts and water safety advocates will take to social media to share how they will get back in the water and what steps they'll take to do it safely once aquatic facilities reopen. We challenge children and adults to join in!
Step 1: Start with this phrase: "When I can get in again..."
Step 2: Add an intention, such as "When I can get in again, I'm going to swim 20 laps."
Step 3: Post your message on social media. Be sure to include these hashtags:
#GetInAgain
#IWSD
#IWSD2020
#InternationalWaterSafetyDay
#WaterSafetyDay
#DrowningPrevention
#MakeWaterSafetyHappen
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Sign-up now. Camp starts on June 29!
Due to the COVID pandemic, BGCG is restricted to state mandated guidelines regarding the delivery of services, including capacity for our programs. Because current guidelines for summer camp continue to evolve, we will be reaching out to all pre-registered families with more information toward the end of May. Pre-registration does not guarantee enrollment in camp programs at this time. Thank you.
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