Supper Program Featured in Gaston Gazette Members Learn About

CLUB NEWS
Fall 2013
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Officers
Dolph Sumner, President
Allen Wiggins, Vice President
Mark McIntosh, Secretary
Ned Carpenter, Treasurer
Board Members
Melissa Balknight
Beverly Bradshaw
Tucker Cole
Brad Collins
Jane Collins
Chip Craig
Bill Eccles
Chuck Elliott
Jerry Fogle
Bill Gray
Beverly Kellar
Gayle Kersh
Kevin Krouse, BC Advisory Chair
John Lockett
Ron Lovelace
Eddie Meeks
Bruce Miller
Dan Nation
Chris Pridnia
Diego Romero
Quintin Shuler
Mark Stephens
Wes Styers
Craig Watson
Eric Witten
Emeritus Members
Richard Belton
Phil Coyle
Judy Czerwinski
J.A. Dalpiaz
Brenard Dalton
Jay Falls
Becky Greene
Charlie Greene
Carl Kunkle
Doug Prestwood
Ted Melvin
J. Ben Morrow
Marshall Rauch
Supper Program Featured in Gaston Gazette
In September the Gaston Gazette attended the annual
Back to School Cookout hosted by the Boys and Girls Club
Board of Directors. A week later the supper program was
featured in a well-written article in the newspaper.
Since it began in 1996, the Supper Program’s goal has
been simple: Address the issue of hunger among children
the three clubs serve. Each year, about 80 percent of
those children are living at or below the poverty level.
Board of Directors serve club
members at West Gastonia Club
Many of them eat breakfast or lunch at school but they
often face the prospect of going home to no dinner each for the Back to School Cookout
evening due to poverty, neglect and other social problems.
First United Methodist and First Presbyterian churches are among the regular
benefactors of the program, as are the local Optimist and Rotary clubs. In addition
to providing needed nutrition, the program provides children with a chance to learn
good table manners, enjoy a family-like atmosphere and feel loved and cared for on
a basic, vital level. It also relieves a burden on working single mothers, custodial
grandparents and families that may have a hard time preparing a balanced meal
every night.
Want to serve? Contact Fatima Gardin, Volunteer Coordinator, at 704-864-6171.
Members Learn About Children with Disabilities
Members from Bessemer City Club took a field trip to Holy Angels in Belmont, NC, in
September. Holy Angels provides specialized, roundthe-clock care for children and adults with intellectual
developmental disabilities and delicate medical
conditions.
While there, Club members were able to interact and
play with some of the residents, throwing the ball and
playing other games. One of the members
Members from Bessemer City Club commented, “Even though [the residents] are
have fun while learning about
disabled, they still smile and enjoy life like everyone
children with developmental
else.”
disabilities when visiting Holy
Angels
Writing Club Teaches Members the Joys
of Reading and Writing
The Writing Club
During August, several of our Boys & Girls Club members had the opportunity
to visit Imaginon, an interactive children’s library
located in the heart of downtown Charlotte.
Program Purpose
Imaginon is designed to help kids learn by
stimulating all five senses. It features two state To expose members
of-the-art theatre spaces, a dedicated library
to writing as a skill
space for youth ages eleven and under, four
 To introduce members to multi-use classrooms, a teen-only library, a
the ways in which writing multimedia production studio and an interactive
and grammar affect many exhibit space.
facets of their life
Makayla, Adrianna, Nicole and
The group of members that participated in this Angelina pose inside the Charlotte
 To foster an interest in a
field trip are members of the Writing Club. The
Trolley in one of the Imaginon
writing related a career or
exhibits.
field trip was a part of the Writing Club
field of study
curriculum that helps the members learn to
express themselves creatively through writing. It is an instructional program
that implements techniques to enhance and give a solid foundation for the
use of grammar in expository and creative
Program Needs
writing using a variety of games and engaging
 One or more
exercises.
knowledgeable adults to
The Writing Club meets weekly throughout
implement activities
the year and has twelve members in third
 Writing supplies
through fifth grades. The Club has also
(notebooks, pens, pencils,
visited Belmont Abbey College and Main
erasers)
Street to see different areas of Gaston
Christopher and Corey plan their
 Computers w/internet
County.
Afterwards they wrote about their
next moves while playing Jenga at
access
experiences and interesting things that they
the Imaginon children’s library.
noticed during the tour. Their next visit will
be a tour of The Gaston Gazette to learn about newsprint and telling stories
through articles and photography.
Program Outcomes
During the fall the Writing Club has focused on different forms of poetry:
 Exposure to different
haiku, rhyming and freestyle. For Halloween, the Writing Club wrote themed
types of literature
poems on foam pumpkins that were displayed for everyone to see. Check
them out on the opposite page!
 Greater grasp of
English Grammar

To encourage continued
interest in the area
of writing
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind
word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of
caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. ~Leo
Buscaglia
6:00pm Cocktails & Appetizers · 7:00pm Dancing begins · Gaston Country Club
VIP tickets and sponsorships will go on sale in December 2013 and General Admission tickets will go on sale
January 1, 2014. They can be purchased online, from the dancers or by calling the Boys & Girls Club Office at
704-864-6171. We accept cash, check and all major credit cards.
For more information, visit our website www.bgcgreatergaston.org.
Halloween Night
By Nysia
On Halloween night all the
kids on Dixon Road were going
trick or treating.
Every house they went to they
got scared.
So they jumped and left their
candy in the house!
Happy Halloween!
By Cali
They have black hats and also
have black cats…Even bats!
Halloween
By Chris
On Halloween night there is a
freaky, creepy cool night.
You can’t see ghosts
with your eyes
You need to look very wise
with your eyes
Beware
Boo!
By Adrianna
By Brianna
You should beware
of a werewolf
that has a lot of blood on
him and has a lot of
cooking food with him.
I love Halloween.
Everybody is petrified!
I am going to be a zombie
cheerleader. I cannot wait!
I will eat your candy and
you will eat mine.
Hide!
Halloween
By Ariel
By Andrea
It’s a spooky night, giving us a fright!
Everybody’s petrified!
Things that thrill and things that crawl,
you might hear a howl.
It’s a spooky night, giving us a fright!
Everybody wants to hide, everybody’s petrified!
I couldn't help but notice the closet full of ghosts.
I gazed at the goblin walking up the stairs.
I could see the zombie leaving blood on the floor.
And all of the stuff was in a haunted house.
P.O. Box 23
Gastonia, NC 28053
www.bgcgreatergaston.org
Phone: 704-864-6171
Fax: 704-864-5525
FORWARDING SERVICE REQUESTED
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER GASTON STAFF
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
WEST GASTONIA
TRIPP HORD
ANNA FURR
Chief Professional Officer Finance Director
MARCUS CYPRIAN
Unit Director
CHAD MELVIN
Operations Director
KRISTEN CLANTON
Development Associate
FATIMA GARDIN
Volunteer Coordinator
BESSEMER CITY
BRADLEY TEEN CENTER
TAMMY JUNE
Membership Associate
MARY ROBINSON
Unit Director
LORENZO RICHARDSON
Unit Director
CHRIS EDWARDS
Program Aid
ANTHONY WATSON
Program Aid
PHYLLIS LOWERY
Program Aid
MATT HOLLOMAN
Program Aid
TERESA WILLIAMS
Program Aid
GREG LARK
Program Aid
OUR MISSION
To inspire and enable all young people,
especially those who need us most, to
realize their full potential as productive,
responsible and caring citizens.
OUR CORE BELIEFS
We provide a safe place to learn and
grow…ongoing relationships with caring,
adult professionals...life-enhancing
programs and character development
experiences...hope and opportunity!
OUR MOTTO
DEAN SMITH
Program Aid
MARILYN WALLACE
Program Aid
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Boys & Girls Clubs
of Greater Gaston