I don’t usually sing the praises of the BOCS for their guest appearances but today I will make an exception. Good for them for inviting the movers and shakers of the local Boys and Girls Club(s) to the meeting to tell us a little something about them. I never knew what they were all about. I knew that kids at Stonewall did volunteer work there. I knew that the BOCS gave them money for operational costs, I knew that the had a steak dinner to raise money. what I didn’t know was their purpose.
After the presentation, I must say, I walked away quite impressed. The Boys and Girls Club has several locations in the county and city. It sponsors after school activities and day care for latchkey kids. There are homework sessions and video games, basketball, etc.
Many of the kids that attend might be considered high risk. They are kids who perhaps don’t have a parent at home after school because that parent is working. There are staff and volunteers who take personal interest in the kids and who end up being a positive image in that child’s life.
I wish I had known more about this organization all along. I know that recently the organization has been a source of contention because various supervisors have been on their board of directors. Good for them. This organization serves hundreds of kids per year. If we are going to have community partnerships, this is one I support fully because of the good it does and because of the number of children it serves. there’s a lot of bang for the buck in this program.
Finally, any program that keeps kids on track is worth money in the bank. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I hope our supervisors continue to work with this organization and continue to be even more visible.
To the folks with the Boys and Girls Club, get yourselves out there early and often and do lots of self-promoting. I didn’t know much about your program and I was not alone. No one I talked to could tell me much at all. All people interested in the welfare of children should be impressed with what you all do. Make sure the entire community knows about it! Thanks for your efforts.
http://www.manassasclub.org/home.aspx
M-H, they are a great organization and we are very fortunate
to have a branch in Manassas to serve area children.
I had no idea how much good they do. I cann;t see for the life of me why our sueprvisors who worked more closely with this organization were under criticism. I am willing to pour a lot of money into this program after seeing the things they do and how many children they serve.
It really hit home $88,000 to incarcerate. Pennies on the dollar to have preventative programs in place. This one has been around a long time also with a proven track record.
My only criticism would be that they don’t self promote nearly enough. I would rather hear about these kids than the delinquents that have turned it around.
On Glenn Vickers’ wish list is transportation that would bring children from Irongate, Westgate and Coverstone communities to and from the Manassas Club. “To” isn’t always as difficult because some schools let the children off, it’s getting them back home in the evening. The Parkside partnership is really important.
Please, friend the “Boys & Girls Club Prince William County/Manassas” on Facebook and you will see what goes on in the clubs every day. BAE Systems employees were just there — it is a constant beehive of healthy activity and a learning environment.
Contact Glenn to volunteer you or your company’s time, talent and money to invest in these young people.
Glenn Vickers, Regional Director
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington
Prince William County/ Manassas Branches
9501 Dean Park Lane
Manassas, VA 20110
(p) (703) 365-2582 ext. 231
(f) (703) 328-8544
http://www.bgcprincewilliam.org
http://www.bgcgw.org
Why can’t some of these churches that have a bus donate a few runs a couple times a week?
Can answer that question for you as when I was part of the group looking at Consolidated Human Services Transportation in the greater Prince William Area, we surveyed the churches and asked them about transportation.
The issue for them is – by the majority of churches – their drivers are all volunteers who are available only on the weekend to drive. During the week, most have the vehicles but no drivers. The few that do have transportation services during the week are doing medical transports (such as Mt. Zion does) as part of the Medicaid Transportation network. Specialized transportation with its own rules so they could not use those runs to transport kids.
A secondary issue for the churches is when you get beyond the 15 passenger vehicles, you bump into requiring a CDL…even a bus license is CDL-P classification. And that gets tough for the churches as on Sunday if they run a bus, it is normally someone who drives a school bus during the week.
For that matter….why can’t they work out an agreement with the county or the city?
Pay a driver. They could have a special drive for money to do it.
I wouldn’t want to transport a kid in my car to be perfectly honest. There are many reasons why, starting with insurance, and then all the social issues.
They are better off with a bus. There are also activity buses running. Why can’t they have a stop going to Boys and Girls Club somewhere in there? Sorry. This is an issue that helps the entire community. As long as it is a PWC kid to start with, there isn’t an insurance issue I dont think. Same for City.
Thanks for the info though.