Have you heard about The Boys and Girls Club of Alton?
The Boys and Girls Club of Alton is a place for children from the greater Alton area to interact and develop social and academic skills - and best of all - to have fun in the process.
Executive Director Al Womack Jr. has a strong sports background, was a college football player and has a degree in business administration - and said his dream has long been to help local youth.
"I always knew that I wanted to help kids in some way, and this is the perfect opportunity," Womack said. "It's very gratifying to see that I've made a difference for someone. One of our biggest goals is to see more kids from Alton go on to higher education."
The club's mission is to inspire and enable all young people to be responsible, caring and productive citizens. Goals are to provide leadership development, career development, health and life education, education in the arts, as well as sports, fitness and recreation.
Power Hour offers homework help and tutoring. Project Learn reinforces and enhances the skills and knowledge that students learn at school, emphasizing parent involvement and collaboration between club staff and school personnel.
Character and Leadership programs include The Keystone Club, Torch Club and Youth of the Year.
Health and life skills are developed through SMART Moves - a national, comprehensive prevention program - SMART Girls for ages 10 to 15; Kids In Control safety awareness and Street SMART - a program designed to counteract negative influence.
Program Director Travis Evans is developing a new series of educational presentations where outside experts will come to the club and speak on a number of subjects.
Through The Boys and Girls Club of America "Operation Connect," the Alton club received a brand new state-of-the-art technology center equipped with 10 new computers and a printer. The center allows members to learn computer programming, general computer skills and computer animation to create characters that can be utilized for positive reinforcement.
Womack said that the Boys and Girls Club provides incentives for children based on homework accomplishments and improvement in schoolwork. Some of the programs help the children to set goals - and when those goals are met, field trips, pizza parties or points to purchase school supplies and other items are offered.
For recreation, members play basketball, volleyball, kickball and other sports. A game room includes a pool table, ping pong tables, Play Station2 and other activities.
"We want to empower and educate, and teach programs that will helps kids make wise decisions," Womack said. "We often fill different areas of their lives, and the entire staff is called upon to wear different hats. We may be counselors teachers or friends to different kids. We play an important part in many of their lives."
The Boys and Girls Club's Alton chapter was established in 1997. The main location is at 115 Jefferson Ave. in Alton with a second at Eunice Smith Elementary School. A third location will open in January at Lewis & Clark Elementary School in Godfrey.
For a yearly $5 membership fee, children aged 6 to 18 can come to the centers to participate in the many programs, parties, sports and outings that the club has to offer - with an open door policy. Some scholarship funds are available. Womack said at this time there are more than 700 members at the combined Alton area locations.
"The club teaches respect for others and self-respect," Womack said. "I can see the difference in kids that have been part of the club and those who haven't."
For more information or to volunteer, call 462-6249 or visit the Web site at www.bgca.org.
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Executive Director Al Womack Jr. has a strong sports background, was a college football player and has a degree in business administration - and said his dream has long been to help local youth.
