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Young people hold
the keys to the future
By Gail Paparian
For the Record Gazette
I'm high! No, it's
not alcohol or drug induced. It's the feeling of euphoria I
experienced during the past few days when I attended The Boys and
Girls Club Western Leadership Conference.
I am pleased and honored to serve on the Board of the San Gorgonio
Pass Boys and Girls Club with some of the finest people I've ever
met: Wendell Bainter, Bob Botts, Lynn Hammer, Doug Monte, Len
Purvis, Jim Smith, Brian Stehli, Terri Trembley, Mickey Valdiva and
president and founding board member, Amy Herr.
Many, many years ago when I was young, I was privileged to spend two
months a summer in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania at camp. My
dad worked six days a week so that my brother and I could spend our
time in this idyllic spot.
We had a great deal of fun and made some lifelong friends. We also
learned about team work, leadership and responsibility Š all good
lessons. Many youngsters throughout the world have not had this
privilege and I remain grateful to my parents for working as hard as
they did to provide me with that opportunity of a lifetime.
Things are different now, including the fact that I was raised by
two parents, one of whom was a stay at home mom. Today, many
youngsters are being raised by one parent who is forced to play both
roles. More children are born today without benefit of their parents
being married, which can cause a whole separate set of problems.
Single parents and working parents are faced with trying to keep
their kids engaged and protected when they are working. Too many
youngsters have too much time on their own between the time they
finish school and an adult may greet them at home.
Fortunately, there
are now more organizations or groups providing positive options for
young people to make their after-school hours productive and keep
them out of trouble also known as gangs. One such group is the
recently chartered San Gorgonio Pass Boys and Girls Club.
At this time, programs are held in Banning at Roosevelt Williams
Park, Central, Hoffer and Nicolet schools. Board members and staff
are in the process of identifying a site(s) for Beaumont youngsters,
hopefully in the immediate future.
Here are some facts about the Boys and Girls Club of America. There
are over 4.8 million girls and boys (mostly from disadvantaged
circumstances) being served in over 4,000 Clubs in the United States
and on military bases around the world. They are overseen by 50,000
full- and part-time professionals and have annual revenues of nearly
$1.5 billion. There are also approximately 182,000 Board and program
volunteers.
At the conference, there were non-stop seminars, meetings and
discussions. Joey Connelly, an 18- year-old club member spoke at a
general session and had those in attendance on their feet and
cheering for him.
Joey's father committed suicide when he was six years old. His
mother was forced to work two jobs in order to support them. She
needed to find a place where Joey would be safe and have fun. She
found the Boys and Girls Club. “The club has given me structure and
consistency,” Joey said. He went on to become the State of Nevada
Youth of the Year.
The Pacific Region alone now serves over 1.3 million kids. One
speaker made a statement that particularly caught my attention: It's
not just a socio-economic situation Š it's about kids in need.” The
numbers continue to verify the extent of the need.
One of the many good reasons to attend a conference of this caliber
is to meet fellow club volunteers and professionals. Change the name
of the city or state and the needs of the youth in the community is
virtually identical. Couple that with the amount of learning I
picked up in a concentrated period of time and the experience was
phenomenal!
Probably the best for me was getting to know my fellow board members
better. Sure we see each other at board meetings, committee meetings
and events, but we have little time to get to know each other. We
surely made a dent in the learning process on this trip.
I believe we share one thing in common: The realization that too
many needs for youth were not being addressed, not only in Banning
but in the entire Pass Area. That is why the organization was
chartered as Boys and Girls Clubs of the San Gorgonio Pass.
This column does not allow me the luxury or the space to provide the
resume and reasons as to why people serve on this particular board.
I closed my eyes and just picked a few to highlight:
Wendell Bainter, the incredibly hardworking treasurer of BGC is a
retired educator with administrative experience. He also serves as
President of Habitat for Humanity-San Gorgonio Pass Area,
Rotary-Interact Club Advisor and President of the Church Council of
the Banning United Methodist Church.
Banning Chief of Police, Len Purvis is a role model for everybody -
particularly youth. “Detective Monte (Doug) and I know we have a
great resource we can rely upon to help intervene and prevent our
youth from becoming involved in gangs, drug use or other criminal
behavior.” Through Purvis, BPAL (Banning Police Activities League)
was re-activated in January, 2007.
Amy Herr, first and foremost, is a wife and mother. She is president
of the Banning School Board, President of Boys and Girls Club, Board
member of the Banning Cultural Alliance and “overall supporter of
Banning.” She is on the Board because “Banning and Beaumont need
people to step up who care about making things better for this
generation an those to come. Our youth are the key to our future. We
need to give them positive alternatives to the extremely negative
and powerful ones that are currently out there.”
Whether you are retired or working, highly skilled or highly
enthusiastic, putting some effort into volunteering for something
you believe in can only enhance the quality of your community. What
they call the “80-20 rule” is probably more like 95-5Š that's where
5% of the people do 95% of the work.
I currently serve on several boards and committees, including the
San Gorgonio Pass Boys and Girls Club (www.bgcsgpass.com). Get
involved. Volunteer, participate, donate your time, donate some
money. That's for anything you consider to be worthwhile and will
enhance the value of your chosen community.
At the end of the day, tired as you might be, you have good reason
to be happy Š so take a moment, get involved, and then pat yourself
on the back. You've earned it!
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