SPEAKER
Posted by Robert Homann on Apr 05, 2017
Our speaker today was Hailey Garland, Youth Development Coordinator for the AJ Boys and Girls club. She has been with the club for 3 years. Hailey thanked our club for helping make the splash pad at the new AJ park possible - she knows her B & G Club kids will make good use of it.
The B & G Club serves about 80-90 students in the age range of 5-18. It is an after-school program Mon-Thur but it is open all day Friday when AJUSD students are off due to the 4-day school week. The club is a safe place, a fun place, an educational place for students to be after school. The students spend 1 hour doing their homework in reading, writing, math, science or history. They are always looking for volunteers to work with the kids on their learning tasks. The club will soon be adding fine art to the list of opportunities for kids. Older students (13-18) also mentor younger students which is helpful to the staff. .
The B & G Club provides an evening meal for the students M-F since many of them come from needy, low-income families. Hailey encouraged Rotary club members to support the B & G club through sponsorships. Donation of sports equipment is always appreciated, even used equipment if it is in good shape. She spent most of her time answering questions from the floor.
At the end of her presentation, acting President Matt Ruppert presented her with a check for $1,000 from our club.