Tailgate in Tremont: OSU Buckeyes

How can you spend an afternoon outdoors watching college football without going to the actual game?  With the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland Bridge Board, a group of young professionals who provide support to the Cleveland youth, at the their third annual Tailgate in Tremont on September 17^th from 2pm to 7pm at The Southside!

Come support the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland while watching The Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Miami Hurricanes (and other big football match-ups) on four big screen TVs.  The event features typical tailgate fare including burgers, brats, hot dogs, hummus, beer, and wine, provided by The Southside.  Meet new friends, cheer on the team and have fun playing tailgate games!

Individual tickets cost $30 in advance and $40 at the door.

You can purchase yours here:

https://clevekids.ejoinme.org/?tabid=307656

Fun Photo Friday: "Shop with the Pros"

“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.”

                                                                                                ~ Ayn Rand

           On Thursday, about 30 club members from across all of our clubs got a chance to go school shopping with a few of the Cleveland Indians’ players.

The Cleveland Indians partnered with Macy’s and Levi’s hosted their annual “Shop with the Pros” back-to-school shopping trip.  After eating lunch at Great Northern Mall, our club members were split into groups to be paired up with an Indians’ player and his family. A few of the players that were present were Matt LaPorta, Joe Smith, Tony Sipp, Justin Masterson, and of course the infamous Slider, the Indians’ mascot. After taking numerous pictures, off the groups went to go school shopping at Macy’s! Each member was given $100 to buy school clothes and had a blast as they joked, laughed, and shopped with their newfound Cleveland Indians’ friends. When they were done shopping, everyone came back together to take even more pictures and to say final good byes.

            Many of the Indians’ players gave more than just their time to our club members. They went one step further and gave them gifts, prizes, autographs, and lots of good advice for their future. For our club members, this shopping trip meant more than just getting new school clothes. This trip gave them an extra boost of confidence as the school year begins because they have a positive view of themselves. This trip helped them to form bonds with Indians’ players and gave them positive memories that they will never forget. This trip planted little seeds of hope that will help our members mature and reach their full potential.

 Thank you to Macy’s, Levi’s, and especially the Cleveland Indians for making this event special for our members! Here are a few photos of the event.

 

Stop the Hate:Can't We All Just Get Along?

In a city-wide campaign to "Stop the Hate" in Cleveland neighborhoods, our club members came up with creative ways to combat the violence and crime that they see all around them. Each club presented their ideas at our annual board meeting last Wednesday to show that they are serious about "stopping the hate" in their lives. Here are some photos and a few of the poems that the students read.

"Stop The Violence"
Lives Lead On The Wrong Path

With Twist And Turns That A Create Horrible Aftermath

Families Broken Apart All Because You Wanted A Name

But In The End You Just Thrusting Yourself Into The Flames 

Lives Taken Away By Drugs And Violence

And Put Into An Eternal Silence 

Guns Fired Over Alleged Words

Just Stop The Violence And Let Your Voice Be Heard

-Brenda A. Brown

Broadway Club Member

“If the World was Blind”

      By Anna McBride

Why is the color on the outside of me so important to you?

Who would you like me to be? What would you like me to do?

Do you want everyone to act and look exactly the same?

All the hate and the fighting people like you are to blame.

Sometimes I wish that the whole world was blind

so you could only see people for what’s on the inside.

We would all look at the world through non-judgmental eyes

This hate is getting us no where can’t you just realize?

If only the world was blind…
-read by Karessa W. and Shylah S.
Broadway Club Members

“For the Boy”

By Erin

I cried for the boy who never knew me.

I cried for the boy because he was different.

I cried for the boy when they teased him.

I cried for the boy when they hurt him.

I cried for the boy when they took it too far.

I cried for the boy when he took his life into his own hands and left this world.

I cried for the boy because I saw this all happen.

I cried because I never said anything to stop it.

I cried because I laughed at their jokes.

I cried because he never hurt anyone.

I cried because he was alone.

I cried for his family.

I cried for not talking to him when I knew I could have been a friend.

I cried for the life he will never experience.

I cried for the boy I should have known.

                                                            -read by Kashjaona W. and DeSeana M.

                                                            Broadway Club members

Fun Photo Friday: College Bound

On July 27, 2011, the Boys & Girls Club Bridge Board awarded one thousand dollar college scholarships to four of our club members. The four selected club members have all shown outstanding commitment to their clubs and are more than deserving of the scholarships they received. We wish them much success in their college bound lives and future career paths! Here are photos of the club members receiving their scholarships.

Kinyatta Edgerson

  

 Always Be A Student

Keep on learning, graduate,
Though your graduation's done;
Your whole life's an education
That has only just begun.

Your diploma is the first big step,
For knowledge is the special key
To winning what you want in life
And being who you want to be.

If you'll always be a student,
You'll find the secrets to success
And travel on the golden road
To peace and happiness.

By Joanna Fuchs

Jaime Tirado and Nora Loftus

“So, impossible as it may seem
You've got to fight for every dream
Cause who's to know which one you let go
Would have made you complete”

-Ruben Studdard, “Flying Without Wings 



Frederick Alexander and Nora Loftus



"I believe in the impossible
If I reach deep within my heart
Overcome any obstacle
Won't let this dream fall apart
See I strive to be the very best
Shine my light for all to see
Cause anything is possible
When you believe”

Aaron Bender and Nora Loftus

-Fantasia Barrino “I Believe”









Fun Photo Friday: Careers in Broadcasting

This past week has been an exciting and busy week for our club members. On Thursday, members from all of our clubs were apart of a live audience for a competition called Careers in Broadcasting. The competition is hosted by the Boys & Girls Club, Taco Bell, and WKYC Channel 3 news station.  Six contestants from our clubs and from other schools throughout the city competed for the opportunity to host their very own segment on the WKYC Channel 3 news station.  The competition took place in a studio room at WKYC in which the six contestants had to give a three minute broadcast about a current event. Our club members then assisted the competition judges on deciding which male and female contestant would win. Our members also received a tour of the news station in which they met many people and learned a lot about news casting while having a great time. Check out some of the pictures of the tour and competition!

Congratulations to Angela Wright and Elliot Bridges for winning the competition!

All of the contestants

The winners!

Fun Photo Friday: Jumping Across Borders

Teddy bear, teddy bear turn all around.

Teddy bear, teddy bear touch the ground.

Teddy bear, teddy bear show your shoes.

Teddy bear, teddy bear how old are you?

1, 2, 3,…!!

Remember sitting outside on the front porch with your friends on a warm summer day eating ice-cream?  Nobody wanted to play tag or hide and go seek any more, so you all did the next best thing: jump rope. Even as the years roll by and fashions, fads, and technology change, jump rope has still found a way to stay active in the lives of both children and adults throughout the world.

On Tuesday, our kids from the Broadway Club received a chance to meet a group of young professional jump rope team members from Tanzania and Kenya. These very special visitors are a part of a non- profit organization called One World One Rope. This organization is a global instructional jump rope program that has started jump rope teams all over the world. Our club members’ cultural awareness increased as they discovered and talked about the differences and similarities between our guests and themselves. They also learned a lot of new jump rope tricks as well. These are some pictures of our members interacting with One World One Rope team members.

We would like to thank One World One Rope for taking time out their busy schedule to come and jump rope across the border with our kids.

Rays of Sunshine

Anyone from the Cleveland area would definitely agree that when it rains here, it pours suddenly, harshly, and nonstop. On rainy days, most people scurry to find a warm and dry shelter to protect them from the cats and dogs falling from the sky outside. Most people. At the Boys and Girls Club on Broadway, we got the unique opportunity to witness nineteen awesome men and women from various Office Max stores in the Cleveland area who not only volunteered hours of their time to come and help us clean rooms around the club, but they also planted new flowers throughout our gardens in the pouring rain. Their benevolence and hard work is evident all throughout our club.



Front yard garden



This group of Office Max volunteers was all business from the time they arrived at 9 am. They started the morning off by cleaning bleachers in our gym and picking up the trash in between all the seats. The volunteers then tackled various storage rooms where they cleaned out old supplies, re-organized shelves, and even moved some items we had to a new storage room. Next, they proceeded to move outdoors where they split into teams and planted flowers in our numerous flower gardens and around our field. There was only one small problem: a huge rain storm was raging outside. However, this did not stop these courageous men and women from completing their task. Despite our numerous efforts to get them to come inside, they went on planting as if it was any other regular day. It rained for at least an hour and half and not once did any of these volunteers come inside other than for a drink of water or more tools. They did not complain nor did they obtain negative attitudes.  We were all simply in awe at the focus, efficiency, and dedication that these men and women possessed throughout their time at the club. However, the most amazing part about the whole experience was that they did all this before lunch time.



Backyard garden



            Around 12:30pm, the Office Max volunteers finally took a break and went on lunch. However, their day was only half over. After all of the hard work that they did during the morning, this fearsome group decided to volunteer even more of their time by engaging in “interactive time” with the children from the club. They played ping pong and basketball, read, talked and spend hours just hanging out around the club with the children.  By the time the Office Max volunteers left that day, they had volunteered over 100 hours of their time to the club.

            The kindness and selflessness that the Office Max workers showed towards the Broadway Boys and Girls Club is priceless. From working in the rain to hanging with the children, this special group of volunteers went over and beyond all that was asked of them. Both the children and the staff really appreciated and enjoyed the positive energy and liveliness that the volunteers displayed the entire time that they were here. They are truly an amazing group of individuals and we are very grateful for all that they did for us.