|
Supporting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana helps young people find a safe and constructive place where they belong during critical out-of-school hours--a time when many kids are left unsupervised. We open our doors and our arms to kids ages 6 to 18, in a safe, positive environment. Inside our Clubs, kids are greeted by name by adult youth professionals in a fun, family atmosphere and are provided first-rate educational and recreational opportunities that all kids deserve!
Partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana is an easy and solid investment. Your gift today will help us provide the life-changing programs and guidance that make our Clubs successful. Working together, we can reach the next generation of youth who will transform themselves, their communities, and America for the better.
Recent Headlines
__________________________________________________________
Our proud partner Kentucky Harvest has donated 42,000 lbs. of food since October 2011! Thank you Kentucky Harvest! This great organization moves food from people who give it to people who need it – free of charge. Mainly a volunteer network, Kentucky Harvest has been raising food for the less fortunate since 1987. Thank you Kentucky Harvest for helping us with our mission!
___________________________________________________
BGCK was recently awarded a 3-year, $300,000 grant from The Gheens Foundation. This grant will go to support our Club expansion efforts in the Louisville area. The support of The Gheens Foundation will make a substantial impact on our Clubs and our ongoing efforts to BE GREAT.
BGCK programs produce tangible, positive outcomes for our kids and the community. Our kids lead safer, healthier lifestyles; they are more physically active and respond better to pressures from drugs, alcohol, and gangs. They also do better in school than neighborhood peers. Our kids have seen great standardized test score improvements and have better school attendance and behavior records than children who do not participate in our Clubs. BGCK is the place where great futures are started each and every day.
____________________________________________
Helping Hands
Planning on purchasing flowers this spring season? Why not help BGCK at the same time! BGCK is teaming up with Nanz & Kraft Florists to launch the company's Helping Hands Program. For each floral arrangement you purchase, Nanz & Kraft will donate $2 to BGCK. That's $2 that will go directly towards supporting our kiddos.
To participate in the Nanz & Kraft Helping Hands Program, go to www.nanzandkraft.com to order your flowers. Simply select the "Helping Hands" pull down menu on the order form and choose Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana to receive your contribution.
__________________________________________________________
Teen Room Renovation
Taco Bell Foundation for Teens has awarded BGCK $12,130 to renovate the Newburg Teen Room! Taco Bell representatives will be volunteering for a day of service to make this transformation a reality! Stay tuned for an update!
College Tours are Back
This spring & summer our Club teens will be touring college campuses in the region! Teens will meet with advisors and learn about college programs, dorm life and financial aide! A BIG thanks to the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens for funding this amazing program!
__________________________________________________________
Club Memberships Sponsored
Over 330 kids will receive Club membership scholarships thanks to CoventryCares!
__________________________________________________________
 In 2011, Club members that participated in the SMART Girls prorgram enjoyed the safe setting in which they learned about health and social issues unique to them. The young ladies benefited from trained, caring, professional staff and volunteers who helped them develop self-confidence and demonstrate responsible behavior. All participants took both a pre-test and a post-test to help determine the degree of knowledge they acquired. The average pre-test score was 73% and the average post test score was 97%. Thanks to the Younger Woman's Club of Louisville for funding the SMART Girls program! Below are a few quotes from this past years' SMART Girls participants!
"I like SMART Girls because it is just for girls and we got to go on trips and learn girl stuff." Jessica G., Ed Endres Club member
“I like being able to answer questions that they may have and don't feel comfortable asking their parents.” Shilese Stover, Jeffersonville Club Program Director
“I enjoyed teaching the girls about self-confidence and that when they are faced with tough decisions they don’t have to fall into peer pressure but can be confident in making the right choice.” Melissa Conn, Shawnee Club Program Director
“Being able to talk to an adult about growing up is cool.” Kendrea V., Jeffersonville Club member
“I like the fun activities that we get to do while we are learning.” Clarissa B., Jeffersonville Club Member
BGCK teens recently toured Brown Mackie College as part of the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens grant to help inspire teens to graduate from high school. Club teens toured the campus and learned about financial aid and scholarship opportunities. Thanks to the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens for making this possible!
|
Club Youth Receive Award
On November 15 three of our Club members were recognized at the Optimist of Louisville Youth Luncheon. They received special recognition for their outstanding achievement and were presented with a $50 gift card to Best Buy.
KMAC Partnership Expanded
 Thanks to The CarMax Foundation for funding an expanded partnership between the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (KMAC) and BGCK. This partnership will provide Club kids with increased exposure to arts activity and professional artists. Last year, BGCK completed a pilot program with KMAC at the Shawnee Club with a grant from The Norton Foundation. This new grant from The CarMax Foundation will help expand the program of artists-in-residence to all 3 Clubs.
Some ideas for the expanded program include a ceramic artist to work with children to create tile clay tessellations, a painter to teach members the skills of painting through creative murals that could enhance the inside and/or outside Club spaces and a filmmaker to help Club members create a documentary about a day inside the Club. We look forward to this coming year's expanded partnership with KMAC thanks to The CarMax Foundation!
   
_____________________________________________
Technology for Teen Room
BGCK was recently awarded a $4,743 grant from Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana to fund 5 computers and computer stations for the Shawnee Club Teen Room.
 
Special thanks to the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels for funding a 12-passenger van for the Shawnee Club! Our kiddos love field trips and the chance to experience activities and explore interests outside of the Club!
 Because our members recognize that the Club is their home away from home, our facilities get a high level of use throughout the year. With financial support from the Lowe’s Charitable & Educational Foundation the Ed Endres Club received some much needed tender loving care: new floors, new gutters, newly painted walls and roof repairs! There is still more to be done with this beautification project!
Before the end of the year a group of Lowe’s volunteers will help out with another big project, wall construction and repairs. Stay tuned for more updates!
Before
  
After
   
_____________________________________________
Jeffersonville Club Teen Room Makeover
|
Games Room Makeover
We applaud Horseshoe Casino & Hotel staff for their hard work in transforming the Ed Endres Club's entry way and games room. The bright paint colors inside and the new greenery outside is sure to create a warm welcoming to our Club kids.
  
_________________________________________________________
Metro Louisville Grants
 Special thanks to Louisville Metro Government for providing BGCK with partial funding for the Shawnee Teen Initiative. This initiative is an effort to reach out to members of our Shawnee community ages 13 - 18. The Club has a dedicated teen room and during the school year the Club reserves the last hour of every day for use by teen members only. Boys & Girls Clubs of America's evidence-based programs designed specifically for teens include: Keystone Club, Money Matters and Youth of the Year. The programs are designed to promote character and leadership development, financial responsibility & service learning experiences and complement programming offered at the Club demonstrates the importance of academic achievement, career exploration, a college-going culture and self-sufficiency. These programs include BE GREAT: Graduate, college tours and job shadowing.
 BGCK also received a Louisville Metro grant to help broaden our Shawnee Club members' exposure to different types of ceramics. By exploring different modes of construction cultures used throughout history, our members will master various techniques that have been employed to create functional containers such as pots, cups, bowls and other decorative vessels. Most ceramic objects are created by one of three means - slab construction, coiling, or throwing on a potter's wheel. While members become familiar with each of these techniques, they will also learn about the historical elements behind each technique through museum and library visits and instructional time with knowledgeable Shawnee staff. During this program, Club members will focus on early 17th century Japanese slab construction tea bowls, Native American cultures reliance on coiling techniques and the ancient Greeks skillful processes involving the potter's wheel.
________________________________________________________
Horseshoe Foundation Grant
 BGCK was awarded $10,000 by the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County. This grant will fund out-of-school time programming for youth at the Ed Endres Club. Special thanks to the Horseshoe Foundation for their continued support!
_________________________________________________________
 Since 1954, WHAS Crusade for Children has existed to change the lives of children with special needs in Kentucky and Indiana. BGCK was recently awarded a grant from WHAS Crusade for Children that will provide funding for a part-time program aide at each of our three Club locations. By providing funding for Program Aides, BGCK will be able to provide more young people with tools and skills to be successful in our communities. BGCK will be able to offer more one on one time with the children who have special needs within the Clubs to assist them in reaching success at their own pace.
Click here for more information about the WHAS Crusade for Children organization.
______________________________________________
New Technology at Ed Endres Club
 Special thanks to Main Source Bank for funding new computers for our computer lab at our Ed Endres Club! Wes Strunk, Ed Endres Club Unit Director, stated that "the computers donated from Main Source bank will help us to provide our members the technology they need to stay on track academically, as well as offer a safe and positive place to come and learn new skills ."
Here's what some Club members said about the new computers!
Deuce B., 8 - "Now I can do my school work and play all my favorite games!"
Ashia C., 10 - "I want to learn how to make different things on the computers so I can give them to my family."
Jev'han G., 13 - "I can use the computers to do research on things I want to learn about."
______________________________________________
Optimist Club Provides Scholarships to Club Members
 Special thanks to the Optimist Club of Louisville for awarding $500 college scholarships to 5 of our Club members and/or Club Alumni. Check out the list below of the scholarship winners and the schools that they will be attending! Great futures really do start at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana!
Laken S. - Vincennes University
Charles S. - University of Louisville
Clanisha C. - Indiana Southeast University
Breia M. - JCTC College
Katie G. - Ivy Tech
______________________________________________
Brown-Forman Lends A Hand
On June 20 over 50 volunteers from Brown-Forman came to the Shawnee Club to volunteer their skills in painting, cleaning, and planting. They also helped to repaint the parking lot lines and put cubbies together for club members to put their belongings. Special thanks to the volunteers for their hard work and help in keeping our facilities in top condition for our Club members!
______________________________________________
|
|
Club Kids Will Attend Rajon Rondo Basketball Camp
Special thanks to Old National Bank for sponsoring 2 of our Club members to participate in the Rajon Rondo basketball camp! On the left is Jennifer Helgeson, BGCK President & CEO and on the right is Old National Bank's Banking Center Manager, Rob Snyder.
______________________________________________
Public Display of Affection for BGCK
We appreciate Thrifty Truck Rental's continued support of our Clubs!Thrifty Truck Rental recently added signage to one of their trucks displaying for all to see that they proudly support Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana. Be on the look out because they plan to add the signage to more trucks in the near future.
What's also awesome about this is that BB&T recently used the truck pictured on the left for their renovation of the Jeffersonville Boys & Girls Club teen room. See below for more details about this project.
Click here to view more articles about our Supporters!
|
|