Education United States Project #10625

Build a Boys & Girls Club for at-risk kids in CA

by Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley

Project Report | Aug 6, 2013
Helping Great Futures Start at Twilight

By Jamie Hauer | Asst. Director of Development

Read on for the latest from the Twilight Program!

The Boys & Girls Club is dedicated to helping every child who comes through our doors get started on the path towards a great future. Through the Twilight Education Project, the Club and its community partners work together to help low-income English Language Learner families reach for a great future together.

Three nights per week, whole families are picked up from neighborhoods throughout Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley by the Club's fleet of buses. They come to Golden West College, where the entire family has the opportunity to learn. Parents take ESL classes provided by Huntington Beach Adult School, and interested parents get job skills training in childcare and early childhood education. School age youth get homework help, tutoring, and enrichment activities in nearby college classrooms, with staff and volunteers from the Boys & Girls Club and the Huntington Beach City School District to help them. Younger children learn the fundamentals that will help them be ready for school in the Robert Mayer Child Development Preschool. All of this is absolutely free for families.

The Twilight program is incredibly successful in helping families meet their goals to succeed in school, on the job, and in life. Here are some of the amazing results the kids have experienced at Twilight this past school year:

78% of youth surveyed say that coming to the Twilight Program is fun!
95% say that they feel safe at Twilight.
88% say they have made new friends at Twilight.
83% say they do better in school because they can get help with their homework at Twilight. 59% say math is a subject they get a lot of help in at Twilight.
88% say being part of Twilight gives them a place they feel like they belong.
90% say there are adults at Twilight that they could talk to if they had a problem they needed help with.
76% say they want to keep coming to Twilight next year.
88% say a Twilight staff or volunteer has told them that they are doing a good job or given them some other kind of recognition.
79% say they look up to a staff member, volunteer or older kid at Twilight and think of him or her as a role model or mentor.
79% say they feel better about themselves since they started coming to Twilight.
85% say they will definitely graduate from high school.
76% say they plan to go to college after high school.

“Twilight has really helped me to…”

“…do my homework.” –most popular response

“…be good in school and act responsibly.” –Kimberly, age 11

“…focus in school.” –Leslie, age 9

“…become a better person.” –Veronica, age 13

“…get better grades.” –Ruben, age 12

“…succeed at school.” –Daniela, age 13

“One thing I really love about Twilight is…”

“They have good activities after homework time.” –Leslie, age 9

“It is fun and they help me with my homework.” –Jasmin, age 8

“Everyone helps us on whatever we need.” –Evelyn, age 10

“…the staff that help us.” –Ruben, age 12

“It’s so fun here!!!” –David, age 9

“…when my mentor helps me with my homework/problems.” –Daniela, age 13

“One thing I love about coming to a college campus for Twilight is…”

“I know how it feels to be in a real college.” –Evelyn, age 10

“I get to see what college is like and it inspires me when I see a lot of students.” –Daniela, age 13

Once the Boys & Girls Club's Family Campus at Golden West College is complete, the Twilight Education Project will have an even greater capacity to serve kids and families in need. Thank you so much for supporting our project to build a new Club and help even more children open the door to a great future!

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May 13, 2013
Your Support = Great Futures for Kids at the Boys & Girls Club

By Laura Portier-LaLumiere | Director of Development

Aspiring pediatrician Nina helps a younger child

I'd like to tell you about one of the kids at the Boys & Girls Club and how it makes a difference to her. Her name is Nina and she has been a member of our Fountain Valley Kingston Branch for several years. Here's what she has to say: “The staff here are really helpful to me when I have a problem with my homework. I also am in Smart Moves and I really like it because it helps me make good decisions when I need to. We learn what‘s right and what’s wrong and we help others do the same. Another way the Club helps me is with Healthy Habits. I like it because it teaches me how to be healthy and eat the right things for my body. One of the things I really liked this year was Bully Prevention Week. It was great because we raised awareness about bullying and what we could do to stop it. We also learned what we could do to help others who were getting bullied. I made a pledge to take a stand against bullying and I think that was really special.” In addition to participating in programs like these, she loves to just have fun with her friends at the Club doing things like playing “Just Dance” on the Wii or putting together routines for talent shows at the Club. When she grows up, she wants to work at the Club, then go on to medical school to become a pediatrician “so I can help out kids who are sick.” As you see in the photo where she is helping a little girl put a bandaid on her scraped knee, Nina is already helping out other kids who need it!

When you make a gift to help build a new Boys & Girls Club, you help thousands of kids like Nina. You'll open the door to the Club and to all the support they need to achieve their dreams of a great future. Thank you for helping kids like Nina!

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Feb 26, 2013
Great Futures Start at the Boys & Girls Club

By Laura Portier-LaLumiere | Director of Development

Tara as a young Club member, with her dad

When you support the project to build a new Boys & Girls Club, you're making a difference not just today, but for a person's whole lifetime. Here's one Boys & Girls Club success story to help you understand the long-term impact that your gift can have.

Boys & Girls Club alum Tara Barr says, “Some of my best childhood memories are of the Boys and Girls Club, since I pretty much grew up there. I started in the infant care program when I was three months old. The Boys & Girls Club was a great place to learn, play, and spend time with friends, and the values that were imparted at the Club definitely helped to shape me into the person that I am today. Also, I probably would not have discovered my love of acting until much later had it not been for the Clubhouse Theatre program, which I will always credit as where I got my start.”

When Tara was just seven years old, she joined the ClubHouse Theatre for a production of Toy Camp and fell in love with acting. She performed in 10 children’s theatre productions, and at nine started working with an agent so she could get involved in television and movie projects. Tara has worked on well-known television series such as The Suite Life of Zack & Cody on Disney, Crossing Jordan, Joan of Arcadia, and this year, on The Bold and the Beautiful. In 2011, she starred in the film “God Bless America.” It was a hit on the independent film circuit and was released in theaters this summer. Tara is now in her sophomore year as a theater major at Chapman University, where she made the Chancellor’s List in spring 2012. At just 18, Tara is making an impressive name for herself and the Club is proud to be a part of her success.

Thanks to your support, kids like Tara will be part of the program as infants, preschoolers, elementary school students, teens, and they can even go on to college all at the same place - Golden West College. Your gift will help kids find and nurture their own interests and passions. By opening the doors of a brand new Boys & Girls Club, you open the door to a great future for thousands of kids. Thank you!

Tara giving an interview on the red carpet

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