Boys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton

June 2009

In this issue...

Lily's Story

96761244052609GroupCareLogo.jpgRelationship, trust and understanding are the primary principles that guide the staff of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton Group Care program. Caring for youth who are under the guardianship of Alberta’s Child, Youth & Family Services can be at times challenging. Youth often spend a relatively short time, between 3 to 18 months, in Group Care before they either transition to Supported Independent Living (SIL) or move on to new placements. Staff continually assist youth to gain or refine the skills necessary to successfully transition into independence; often not seeing the full impact and benefit of their time and effort.

One youth in particular wanted to share her experience at Boys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton. “Lily’s” story is one of many from our Group Care program.

At the young age of 5, Lily and her younger brother were dropped off at Child & Family Services by her mother. She has a thoughtful expression on her face as she remembers the last time she saw her mom. “My Dad drove us to meet her. I was six years old. She opened up the back of the van and gave us twizzlers. That was the last time I saw her.”

When asked about her Dad, Lily’s composure changes immediately. Lily’s Dad was an alcoholic who physically and sexually abused her. As Lily relates her story of neglect and abuse, she struggles to maintain her composure. Her obvious pain makes me hesitant in continuing the interview. With a look of determination on her face, she says, “ No, my story might help someone.” Lily, who is now 16 years old, has been in over 30 placements. Before ending up at the Boys & Girls Club of Edmonton’s Group Care program, Lily was in a Group Home, out of town, which she ran away from. She was on the streets for 8 months. She shakes her head as she remembers how bad it was. “I was drinking, doing drugs and in really bad relationships. I was arrested [and put in jail] for 19 days. It was a really bad time.”

When asked about her time in the Boys & Girls Clubs Group Care program, she smiles, laughs and says, “I was so bad when I first got here. I had a hard time adjusting. I didn’t think anyone cared about me. I don’t think it was until 2 months into the program that I started to realize that Group Care staff truly did care.” The road to realization and hope was a difficult one for Lily. She tested staff when it came to trust, often doing things just to see if they would give up on her. She remembers when she took off to Vancouver and after 5 days decided to call staff. Even now there’s a look of amazement on her face as she remembers how worried the staff was and how much they worked at opening up her bed in Group Care. “Boys & Girls Group Care staff gave me support and gave me options. They went above and beyond, even when they were off the clock.”

Lily’s dreams and aspirations are to graduate from high school. She wants to get to a point where she doesn’t have to use “other influences” when something difficult has happened in her life. Her career choice is to work in the social services field. When asked why this career, she says, “Everyone should have an equal chance and I want to give people that.”

Stars On Ice

33631244052768StarsOnIce12.JPGBoys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton had the opportunity to take some of their club members to Stars on Ice put on by Sears and Smuckers at Rexall Place. The day started off with the two clubs, McCauley and Kinsmen, meeting at Rexall Place where they were greeted by a representative of “Stars on Ice”. For an hour, club members and staff, were granted access to the Rexall arena, where greats like Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier have skated. The children from Kinsmen were the most overjoyed as many of them had never skated before. Experiencing it for the first time and being able to be in the presence of people who did it for a living was thrilling.

Kurt Browning, a popular figure skater in the 90’s, came over to skate with some of the youth. He was very warm and friendly, still had the gusto that earned him so many accolades. “I want to be a skater like Kurt,” 7 year old Shyann informed staff. They were dazzled by the other skaters that were practicing, doing triple axles and one skater even doing a back flip which made club members and staff gasp in delight. “Sasha was so amazing!” April, 13, was overheard saying. “I want to be Sasha,” 6 year old Jocelyne declared.

The club members obtained autographs and took pictures with all the stars. The look on the club members faces was one of wonder and excitement. “The stars were so awesome!” said Atab, 7. When asked what their favorite moment was, all responded, “Stars on Ice!”

Camp Discovery 2009!

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During the summer every year, the club members of Boys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton, head to Camp Discovery, located by Lake Wabamun. It’s this time of the year when all club members come together and enjoy the outdoor fun. There are nine clubs throughout the city and it’s not often can get together simultaneously. Camp Discovery is that time of the year when they have that opportunity. Pam Szmyrko, the Camp Coordinator, has 3 main programs scheduled this year. It’s sure to be a blast!

Club Med Retreat (Group Care & Turning Points)
Join a fun, relaxing and challenging experience with friends. Enjoy, share and laugh outdoors this summer at the Club Med Retreat. Activities include spa sessions, Boot Camp, wood burning totem poles, canoeing, iron chef, jewelry, knots, Amazing Race, Yoga and more!!

Camp Discover 6 – 11
Discover & Unearth the Past, Invent & Investigate the Present, Imagine the Future; To Infinity & Beyond. Activities include Gladiator Challenger, Archeological Digs, India Jones: The Last Crusader, Hieroglyphic Decoding, Blasts from the Pasts, and many many more!

Camp Discovery 12 – 17
So you think you can dance? Join the challenge of an extraordinary week of exciting events and activities to determine the camp team who can do it! LET THE ADVENTURES BEGIN!!
Medieval Tournament “A Day as a Knight”, Safari expeditions “where the campers are as wild as the animals”, Pirate excursions, dance contests, and much more!

All camp programs offer multicultural activities daily.

For more information, please contact our Camp Coordinator, Pam Szmyrko, at (780) 418-1235 or via email at pszmyrko@bgce.ca.

Clubs Receive Nutrition Grant

27621244056196Rundle3.JPGBoys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton received a nutrition grant that gave the Clubs an opportunity to use the funding to purchase much needed kitchen supplies. The 9 Clubs throughout the city were very excited about their new purchases. Upon the delivery of the kitchen items, the reaction of club members and staff were one of excitement. “Whoa! What did you do, bring the whole Sears store back to the club with you?” exclaimed Lisa, a program staff at Club Connect. And clearly the club members shared her excitement. “Wow, we actually got all new kitchen stuff for our club? That’s awesome! Now we can bake and make smoothies and have popcorn! And we have real bowls now too!” an excited Aryn, 9, told staff. James, 13, from Club Connect even offered to cook. They dug excitedly into the boxes to see what new surprises awaited them. Isabella, with all the authority of a very wise 6 year old claimed, “The food tastes so much better.”

For one of our clubs, new appliances were at one point a long shot, but through the hard work of the Fund Development team and the generosity of Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada, this was made possible.

Caddie Classic Title Sponsor

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Boys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton is proud to announce that TELUS will once again act as the Title Sponsor for the 15th Annual Caddie Classic Golf Tournament.

This will be the 3rd consecutive year that TELUS has supported the tournament as the Title Sponsor.

Established in 1995 by Garth Thomas, this tournament provides a rewarding and unique experience for the golfers because the kids from our clubs get to participate!  For the front nine they will be out there volunteering their time as caddies. They get exposure to golf - something they might not otherwise have the chance to experience plus, they get the opportunity to spend time with a positive adult role model.

The staff of Boys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton along with the kids who attend our Clubs would like to thank TELUS for all the support they have provided over the past 3 years.  We could not have done it without you.

For all other sponsorship opportunities and to participate as a golfer for the Event please contact Stephen Kufske at 780-917-6653 or skufske@bgce.ca.

A Gift of Hope

26461244056200EndofSummer200839.jpgOur approach in working with young people is a key strength of Boys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton. We focus on the positive potential of every child because, like you, we simply believe in kids!

We understand that the fundamental importance of nurturing young people’s self-esteem by engaging them in activities that challenge and enrich their mind, bodies and spirits.

With your help and support, we hope to reach out and help thousands of Edmonton children and youth.

 

 

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

Boys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton Annual General Meeting

Boys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton will be holding the  47th Annual General Meeting on June 8, 2009 at 6 p.m. at our very own Camp Discovery.