News
Movers and Shakers (06/22/09)The Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis recently added three new board members: Luanne Lawrence, Chris Nordyke and Marci Eastham. Officers for the 2009-2010 board of directors include Stephanie Maxon, president; Steve Zander, treasurer; and Patrice O’Brien, past president. Other board members include Tom Ahlers, Beth Buglione, Todd Cleland, Bob Cook, Kerry Dyer, Dan Hedrick, Dave Henslee, Randy Huber, Bill Humphreys Jr., Alan Lanker, Bill Mercer, Ryan Sparks, Barte Starker, Dawn Tarzian, Dick Thompson, Biff Traber, Todd Washington, Tim Weber and Curt Wright.
Boys & Girls Club helps kids play it safe with Safety Town (06/19/09)Boys & Girls Club helps kids play it safe with Safety Town
By the Gazette-Times
Registration is open for the Corvallis Safety Town summer education program offered by the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis.
Sessions are set for 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. this Tuesday through July 3; July 7 through 17; and July 21 through 31.
Registration is open to all children entering kindergarten in the fall. Children will practice how to be safe drivers and pedestrians in the miniature town located at Jefferson Elementary School. The lessons also feature songs, art projects, safety videos and bus field trips.
Middle and high school students can volunteer and receive credit for community service hours to fulfill academic requirements. Volunteer opportunities are still available for those who have completed the sixth grade. Volunteer information and applications can be found at www.bgccor
vallis.org.
Parents and guardians are also needed to help as on-site coordinators at each one of their child’s sessions; assistant field trip coordinators; and classroom assistants during any of the session days.
Register online at the Web address above.
more info...Clinic can help healthy grins begin
By Alex Paul
Gazette-Times reporter
OSU’s Robinson, Valenti put focus on club’s free dental help
“Whoops -. ! Whoops!,” dentist Ken Johnson exclaimed, as he examined the teeth of Oregon State University men’s basketball coach Craig Robinson. Johnson’s good-humored dental exam commentary came Tuesday morning at the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis’ free dental clinic.
Johnson, Robinson and former OSU coach and current Beaver ambassador Paul Valenti broke out into raucous laughter.
Valenti had volunteered to assist Johnson during the mock examination to promote the clinic’s free services to area youngsters. It brought back memories of when the San Francisco, Calif., native was a dental technician aboard the escort carrier USS Chenango (which saw heavy action in the South Pacific including the battle of Leyte Gulf) during World War II.
“You have very good teeth,” Johnson told Robinson, who was impressed by the free clinic when he spoke recently at the club’s annual fund-raising breakfast.
“It’s so important for everyone who can to help others, especially at times like this,” Robinson said. “People aren’t feeling good about themselves. Free dental care is so good for everyone. It’s important that children learn to not be afraid of dentists. Once they feel comfortable here, at the Boys & Girls Club clinic, then they probably will continue going to the dentist for life. It’s good to be a part of this.”
Robinson said he has always felt comfortable going to the dentist, in part because he started getting regular checkups early in life.
Founded in February 2008, the clinic has provided free dental care to more than 400 children thanks to volunteers like Johnson, who staffs it five days a month, said club director Helen Higgins. The clinic takes up about 500 square feet and includes two examination areas and a small laboratory.
Other volunteer dentists include Janet Peterson, Chris Martell, Ryan Sparks, Jean Martin, Lon Jensen and Scott Travelstead. Higgins said the clinic needs more volunteer dentists, hygienists and assistants.
“We want to encourage families to bring their children here, even though school is about out for the summer,” Higgins said. “They can call Amy Harwell, our dental coordinator, at 757-1909, extension 216.”
Harwell’s position is funded in cooperation with the Benton County Health Department.
Higgins said the total value of the clinic is close to $1 million.
When Johnson handed Valenti a facial mask, Valenti asked with a smile, “What’s that for?” Procedures were a little more basic aboard a ship during wartime.
Valenti had come to Oregon State as a 6-2 forward in 1938 to play for Slats Gill.
“I enlisted in 1942 just like everyone else,” Valenti said. “It’s what we did back then.”
Trained as pharmacist’s mate, his duties soon were changed to dental technician.
“We had about 3,000 guys on the ship,” Valenti said of working on patients on a undulating ocean. “It wasn’t bad until we got into a hurricane. Then everything got buttoned up.”
Valenti returned to OSU in 1946 and coached basketball — including the 1966 Pac-8 championship team that advanced to the Elite Eight — baseball and tennis at various times until he retired in 1970. He maintains an office at OSU and supports the university’s sports mission in many ways.
Johnson operated a dental office for 42 years and made nearly 30 humanitarian missions to Third World countries. Now, through the free clinic, needy children come to him.
Maps on one wall of the clinic’s lobby feature push pins indicating where children who have received treatments were born. They have come from throughout the United States and numerous foreign countries including Mexico, Russia, Europe and the Marshall Islands.
The first two patients seen when the clinic opened in February 2008 were children of a man who came from a community in the Marshall Islands where Johnson had made a dental mission.
Because he was such a good patient, Johnson made Coach Robinson a balloon animal and gave him a stuffed toy tooth as a memento of his visit to the clinic.
Alex Paul can be contacted at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling 758-9526.
more info...A promise kept for fields
Boys & Girls Club puts MLB grant to work
By Alex Paul
Gazette-Times reporter
When Don Wonsley played baseball as a youngster, it often was on bumpy, poorly kept fields.
“I vowed that when I grew up, if I had any say about it, kids would have good fields to play on,” said Wonsley, who today is the athletic director for the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis.
He never forgot that promise; renovation of four baseball diamonds at Williams Field near Cheldelin Middle School began last year, Wonsley said. The project recently hit a grand slam thanks to a $201,232 grant the club has been awarded from Major League Baseball.
The money — from MLB’s Baseball Tomorrow Fund — will be used to install lights at two fields and scoreboards on all four fields, construct a new batting cage and possibly purchase a new lawn mower and compact utility vehicle to haul equipment around the facility. It also will help provide scholarships for children whose families who need financial assistance.
“It all started when Tracy Elmhaeuser, the club’s resource development director, asked me if we should apply for a grant from Major League Baseball,” Wonsley said. “I was kind of skeptical at first. Thousands of places apply for these grants every year. But, it was worth a shot.”
Wonsley said the four fields were in poor shape when he took over upgrading them a year ago.
“The infields were all dirt. That can get really dusty, and it’s not fun to play on,” Wonsley said. “I wanted a better place for the kids.”
Grass was planted on two infields and $3,000 worth of special material called Diamond Pro was top dressed over the base paths.
“It doesn’t compact, and it absorbs moisture,” Wonsley said. “It allows us to play much more quickly after it rains.”
B. Johnson Turf Irrigation Co. helped dig up the old irrigation system, replace broken sprinkler heads and add new water lines, Wonsley said. Reynolds Farms donated the grass seed and helped plant it.
“Without them, I don’t know where we would be,” Wonsley said.
Wonsley said the 11-acre site is owned by the Corvallis School District.
Several weeks ago, a representative of Major League Baseball visited Corvallis to review the fields and doublecheck the club’s application form.
“We thought we weren’t going to get anything,” Wonsley said. “Then, we got a phone call saying we were going to get $201,231. We were amazed.”
The club already had received a check for $100,000.
More than 300 boys and girls, ranging in age from 5 to 14, participate in T-ball, softball and baseball in conjunction with the Junior Baseball Organization.
Wonsley said Corvallis will again host the Junior Baseball Organization state tournament July 22 to 27. His goal is to have the lights and scoreboards up and running by then.
Alex Paul can be contacted at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling 758-9526.
more info...Events
MONDAY
First Monday Summer Barbecue, 5 to 7 p.m., Albertson’s shopping center, 1945 N.W. Kings Blvd. Hosted by Chris Nordyke State Farm, the event is a benefit for the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis. One dollar for every hot dog sold and $5 for every insurance policy quoted will be donated to the club. Information: 541-452-5200.
Dine Out to benefit the Boys & Girls Club (05/25/09)Dine out to benefit Boys & Girls Club on Monday
By Alex Paul
Gazette-Times reporter
Families can enjoy a night on the town, go out to eat at 10 Corvallis restaurants Monday and help the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis at the same time.
A percentage of proceeds from each of the restaurants’ sales will be donated to the club.
Participating restaurants include both locations of American Dream Pizza, Block 15, Bombs Away Cafe, Cloud 9, Crow Bar, Downward Dog, El Sol De Mexico, Francesco’s Gelato, both locations of Jamba Juice and Papa Murphy’s.
The project began last year as part of a planning class at Oregon State University.
Tracy Elmhaeuser, resource development director of the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis, said, “The assignment was to plan and execute an event to raise money for a local nonprofit and use project planning skills to do it.”
The club likes to get new restaurants involved each year, Elmhaeuser said. New participants this year include Bombs Away Cafe, Cloud 9, Crowbar, Downward Dog and Jamba Juice.
“Not only does it drive business to the restaurants on a Monday night, but it also brings awareness to the club and much-needed dollars to our programs,” Elmhaeuser said.
Last year, the event raised more than $2,300. This year’s goal is $4,000.
Elmhaeuser said the event “brings some great awareness to the organization and the only thing people have to do is go out to eat and enjoy themselves.”
The Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis works with 1,000 young people every day through its clubhouse, licensed daycare services and athletic programs.
The club is in the midst of its ninth annual capital campaign and has raised about $250,000 of its $599,000 goal.
Alex Paul can be contacted at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling 758-9526.
more info...Robinson says club has winning attitude
By Alex Paul
Gazette-Times reporter
Oregon State University Beavers men’s basketball coach Craig Robinson knows what it takes to “Be Great.” That also was the theme of the ninth annual Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis fundraising campaign. Its overall goal is $599,000, and Robinson was the celebrity guest at the Celebrate Kids Breakfast on Thursday morning. Its goal was $250,000.
Robinson told more than 500 club supporters in attendance that he took the coaching job against the advice of many people. The Beavers won only six games in 2007-08 and not a single one against Pacific-10 opponents.
But with a work ethic he said he learned as a Boys & Girls Club member, Robinson turned the squad into the College Basketball Invitational champions, finishing the season 18-18.
Robinson said many people tried to talk him out of taking the OSU coaching job.
“They said it was going to be tough. That it was a hard market, a hard economy, and bad kids,” Robinson said. “I disagree. There are no bad kids -. I think five guys turned down the coaching job, thank you very much,” Robinson said to loud applause.
Robinson said the team shrugged off negativity and put what the coaches had to teach — often at early morning practices — into play, resulting in a home overtime win over USC in their second Pac-10 game of the season and the CBI title.
Playing and winning the CBI tournament was a well-earned reward for the team, Robinson said.
“Emotionally, physically and mentally, these guys weren’t afraid to be great,” Robinson said.
The Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis “wants all of us to be great,” Robinson said. He encouraged the guests to continue their support of the club with donations of money and time.
“The Boys & Girls Club is one of the greatest places for kids to come,” Robinson said. “I was one of those kids and I loved coming here.”
According to CEO Helen Higgins, the club serves nearly 1,000 young people each day.
“Our vision is that the Boys & Girls Club should be the hub of activity for the youth of our community,” Higgins said.
To learn more about the club or its annual fundraising campaign, call 757-1909.
Alex Paul can be contacted at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling 758-9526.
more info...Students hear how to succeed in careers
By Alex Paul
Gazette-Times reporter
Professionals: Education, dedication are key
Think longterm when making important life decisions: That was the advice from two professionals who recently addressed high school students in the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis’ CareerLaunch program.
Suzanne Roppe, a State Farm Insurance agent, and Lt. Dave Henslee of the Corvallis Police Department each shared their expertise on April 15.
Manny Lopez, the club’s assistant director, said about a dozen freshmen and sophomore students are participating in the program, which includes a weekly Money Matters session, at which students learn how to write checks, balance a checkbook and set a budget.
“The programs are free and are geared toward 14-and 15-year-olds,” Lopez said. “We want to keep the sessions small, a maximum of 15 kids. The meetings are from 5 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday at our Club Coffee.”
Roppe is a Willamette University graduate who spent 10 years working for another insurance agent in Salem before opening an office in Corvallis about a year ago.
Henslee has been with the police department for 16 years and is the department’s public information officer.
Both Henslee and Roppe urged the students to look past everyday distractions and plan for the future. That includes getting a college education.
Roppe said that her first job out of college was working for minimum wage at a large department store.
“Because I had a degree and worked hard, I got promoted rapidly,” Roppe said. She eventually opened her own State Farm Insurance office, and the business now has three employees and is thriving.
Henslee said that he planned to be an accountant when he first started college, but he soon realized that he didn’t like being stuck in an office all day long. He volunteered with the police department and then worked as a reserve officer while earning his college degree.
Henslee said that the police department receives hundreds of applications for each job. The ones who are hired have completed high school, at least 90 hours of college credit, have a good driving record and have no felony criminal history. The department especially prizes ethics and integrity, Henslee said, and he defined integrity as what a person does when nobody is watching.
“I can teach a person (how) to write a ticket,” Henslee said. “What’s important is knowing how they will act when things are tough. What kind of person are you? I want to hire good people that I can teach about law enforcement.”
He said the department has a cadet program for 16- to 21-year-olds. Cadets learn about policing activities, ride along with officers and actually get paid for working at events such as parking cars during Oregon State University football games.
Stockbroker Kay Dee Cole will talk to the students 5:30 p.m. today.
Alex Paul can be contacted at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling 758-9526.
more info...Registration open for Safety Town sessions
By the Gazette-Times
Registration is under way for the Corvallis Safety Town summer education program offered by the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis.
Registration is open to all children entering kindergarten in the fall. Children will practice how to be safe drivers and pedestrians in the miniature town located at Jefferson Elementary School. These lessons, combined with songs, art projects, safety videos and bus field trips, provide a fun learning experience for the children.
Morning sessions are scheduled from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. They cost $45 and go from June 23 to July 3; July 7 to 17; and July 21 to 31.
Middle school and high school students can volunteer and receive credit for community service hours to fulfill academic requirements. Volunteers must have completed the sixth grade.
Parents and guardians also are needed to help as on-site coordinators at each of their children’s sessions, assistant coordinators to help with field trips and classroom help during any of the session days.
Space is limited and sessions are filling quickly. Fore more information, or to register, see the club’s Web site at www.bgccorvallis.org.
Kids find alpacas are alright (03/25/09)Kids find alpacas are all right
By Alex Paul
Gazette-Times reporter
Mid-valley farms bring animals to Boys & Girls Club
Eight-year-old Rachel Lane leaned forward, closed her eyes, and an inquisitive alpaca gave her a playful kiss on the head.
“That was pretty cool,” Rachel, 8, said at the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis spring break program Wednesday morning. “They are really cute, and I’ve always wanted to live on a farm.”
Five mid-valley farms brought the cuddly animals to the club to help youngsters learn about the animals’ native homeland of South America. The farm owners are members of the Willamette Alpaca Breeders Association. Participating were Chappell’s Alpaca Junction, Junction City; Silver Eagle Alpacas, Albany; Whispering Willow Ranch, Lebanon; Rochelle’s Farm, Millersburg; and Krazy Woman Ranch, Corvallis.
Youngsters giggled as they felt the alpacas’ soft muzzles and tentatively let them eat pellets, carrots and sliced apples from the palms of their hands.
About 60 youngsters are participating in the club’s spring break program, according to Sandy Nored, school-age children director.
Dianna Chappell’s family has raised alpacas on their small farm near Junction City since 1998.
“They are easily handled by children or adults,” Chappell said. “They grow to about 36 inches at the shoulder, and a large alpaca is about 180 pounds; maybe up to 220 pounds.”
Alpacas are members of the camelid family, which includes camels and llamas. There also were two llamas at Wednesday’s program. They are native to the Andes Mountains of South America, primarily Bolivia, Chile and Peru.
Their offspring, called “cria,” weigh 14 to 22 pounds at birth. Gestation is about 11 months, Chappell said. Breeding can start when females are about 18 months old, and they live up to 20 years.
Farm income is generated by shearing alpaca fiber, much like wool.
“It’s used to make clothing, rugs, blankets and in the arts,” Chappell said. “It’s like wool, closer to cashmere. It’s very fine, and there’s no itch or lanolin, so people who are allergic to wool may not be allergic to alpaca fiber. We shear them every spring.”
Wednesday’s program was arranged by Rochelle Ammon, the club’s finance director, who raises alpacas near Millersburg. “I’ve always been interested in them,” Ammon said. “I used to see them in farm pastures and just stop and watch them. They remind me of little Teddy Bears on stilts.”
When a Scio area breeder showed Ammon a young cria, “It was all over. I knew I had to get some,” Ammon said.
Today, participants in the spring break program (in addition to studying about other clubs around the country on the Internet) are scheduled to go bowling. Friday, a 3D movie is on the agenda.
Alex Paul can be contacted at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling 758-9526.
more info...Club offers Spring Break activities
By Alex Paul
Gazette-Times reporter
Families don’t have to run off to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to have fun this spring break, March 23 through 27, thanks to the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis.
As part of the club’s annual School Time Off Program (STOP), doors will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday of spring break at the club at 1112 N.W. Circle Blvd., said Sandy Nored, school-age care director.
Parents can register their kindergartner through fifth-grader for just $40 per day. Scholarships are available. Children must be Boys & Girls Club members. A yearly membership is $25 and runs from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31.
Children don’t have to start on Monday and can attend any of the days, Nored said.
At the time of registration, parents can sign up their children for lunch and must pay for the meals at the same time. Cost is $2.65 per day. Morning and afternoon snacks are provided at no additional fee.
The program’s theme is, “Boys & Girls Clubs Around the World.” Each day there will be a celebration focusing on different continents, including games, art, music and food.
Children will be encouraged to use the club’s technology center to research other clubs around the world and to locate them on a map.
Wednesday will be South America Day, Nored said. Members of the Willamette Alpaca Breeders Association will bring alpacas to the club and share their passion and knowledge about these fuzzy four-legged friends.
Each day’s activities will also include a field trip: Monday, Grace Center for Adult Day Services; Tuesday, Wacky Bounce; Wednesday, OSU Climbing Center; Thursday, Highland Bowl; Friday, 3D Movie, “Monsters versus Aliens.”
Parents can register online at www.bgccorvallis.org or call the club at 757-1909.
Alex Paul can be contacted at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling calling 758-9526.
more info...Players enjoy football clinic
By Rachel Beck
Corvallis Gazette-Times
It takes more than two hours of drills with the Oregon State University football team to wear down 7-year-old Hunter McCaskill.
As Saturday’s OSU Youth Football Clinic came to an end, the Philomath boy still was full of energy. He raced around the Truax practice facility, begging every player in sight to autograph his jeans. All of them agreed.
Gunner was one of about 350 kids who attended the fourth annual OSU football clinic to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis. The clinic is for children in grades three through eight.
While the players ran groups of kids through position-specific drills at the Truax Indoor Center, OSU head coach Mike Riley strolled the sidelines, giving high fives to the camera-toting spectators.
“It’s just a chance for our program to kind of give back to the community,” Riley said. But as he surveyed the field house, he noted the kids weren’t the only ones benefiting.
“I think our guys get more out of it than the kids do,” he said.
The Beaver athletes enjoyed the chance to call the shots.
“All year, we’re taking instruction,” said cornerback James Dockery. “So it’s fun to finally give it out in a friendly way.”
There was no charge, but donations to the Corvallis Boys & Girls Club were accepted. Boys & Girls Club athletic director Don Wonsely praised the OSU players’ enthusiasm.
“They just bring an energy to the whole event,” he said.
Lebanon friends Tre Stewart, Clay Verbeck and Nate Francois, all 13, agreed that tackling Beaver players was the best part of the day. It wasn’t too tough to do, Stewart said — as long as a whole bunch of kids got one guy at once.
Aside from the tackling, they liked the chance to play with the guys they see on television.
“It’s something you don’t get to do everyday,” Tre said.
That also was true for the Beaver players, who got to briefly evade the stresses of being Division I players.
“It’s always fun to have a little icebreaker like this,” Dockery said. “Remembering (that) football is fun; something we should enjoy.”
Linebacker Walter Vave said he spotted some budding football talent at the clinic.
“I think most of these guys will grow up to be great football players and great student-athletes,” he said.
more info...Boys & Girls Club kids release tiny trout
By Alex Paul
Gazette-Times reporter
Duncan Carrigan might someday catch one of the 600 rainbow trout fry he helped plant Wednesday afternoon at the E.E. Wilson pond.
Carrigan and nine other Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis members released nearly 600 of the one-inch fry that they had reared over the past few weeks. Club members reared nearly 100 of Wednesday’s batch and Corvallis High School students nurtured the other 500.
“It’s awesome,” said Carrigan, 10, a student at Jefferson Elementary School. “I love fish, and I like to go fishing. I go with my dad, or my mom and stepdad. We even come here sometimes.”
Karen Hans, a biologist with the Salmon Trout Enhancement Program (STEP), provided the rainbow trout eggs from the Roaring River Fish Hatchery on Jan. 28. Fish are also being reared at the Osborn Aquatic Center and Franklin Elementary School and will be released at a later date.
The eggs hatched in 10 days, volunteer Mike Crickmer said. The water temperature was closely monitored and recorded. A display board detailing the life cycle of trout was placed by the aquarium in the club’s front lobby.
Staff member Mary Ann Dozer said the project is part of a long-term goal of teaching youngsters about the environment and how to enjoy fishing as a hobby or career.
“Two summers ago we actually set up a program to teach the kids how to fish,” Dozer said. “We have since had projects to teach them how to tie flies, to dissect fish and to make fish prints. Now, they are learning how it all starts.”
As biologist Hans gently netted the tiny fish, she talked to the youngsters, who would soon be on a bus headed for the outdoors.
“Birds, other fish and frogs want to eat the baby fish,” Hans said. “So, they have to hide. They have stripes and are brown, so they can hide out until they are bigger.”
The fry have good eyesight, she said, which comes in handy because they feed on tiny insects.
“Why do they run from the net?” Hans asked. “To a fish, capture means death. Their instinct tells them I want to eat them. Although their parents aren’t there to take care of the baby fish, they leave their offspring with something called instinct, which tells them what to do.”
At the pond, Hans explained the baby fish need to acclimate to the temperature of their new home, so she allowed some of the pond water to pour into the bucket before dumping it.
Each of the club members got to plant a bucket of the fish and watch them dart quickly away from the shoreline.
Jonathan Lopez, 12, a seventh-grader at Linus Pauling Middle School, enjoyed the outing.
“I learned about a lot of this in the sixth grade at school,” Lopez said. “It’s fun though. My whole family likes to fish or go crabbing. It’s cool.”
Hans said each year students throughout her district help rear about 15,000 Chinook salmon that come from the South Santiam Hatchery at Foster. They are released into rivers. Ten thousand rainbow trout come from the Roaring River Hatchery and are released into ponds. The fry that survive will grow to between 6 and 8 inches in about one year, Hans said.
“I would be delighted to have this program in every classroom in my district,” Hans said. “There’s no better way to reach students and for them to learn to respect what fish need to survive.”
Alex Paul can be contacted at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling 758-9526.
more info...Sasha Paape and Virginia Hassel of the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis are among those attending a national conference on teen parenting, racism, gang violence and closing the academic achievement gap.
Those are among the major issues affecting today’s youth to be debated by more than 1,500 teens attending Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s (BGCA) National Conference, sponsored by the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, today through Sunday in Atlanta, Ga.
This is the first year that the local Keystone Club has been involved in the program. Keystone Clubs are teen leadership groups within Boys & Girls Clubs that focus on leadership development through community service.
The event provides a forum for young people from California to the Carolinas to develop skills, exchange ideas, debate issues and take pride in being an integral part of a dynamic and growing youth movement.
Joining members of the Keystone Krew from the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis will be two Boys & Girls Club alumni, the host of EXTRA, Mario Lopez, and award-winning singer Ashanti.
The Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis, at 1112 N.W. Circle Blvd., has served the youth of the community for 38 years, providing programs for more than 2,000 boys and girls in the areas of drug and alcohol prevention, delinquency intervention, health and fitness, career exploration and educational enhancement.
For more information, contact Manny Lopez, at 757-1909 ext. 225.
more info...Take a bow
The Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis recently presented several awards recognizing outstanding volunteerism at the Club. The winners were selected by Club staff and members. Club staff chose Sam Friedland for the “Direct Service to Kids” award for his commitment to read to Club members each week without fail. Mark Keppinger received the “Behind the Scenes” award for his volunteerism with the organization’s Information Technology systems. Ken Johnson received the “Above and Beyond” award for his work with the Club’s free dental clinic. And the Club members gave Haley Alexander the “Kids Choice” award for her commitment and fun attitude.
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