Staff and Club members from the Sulpizio branch have benefited from a $5,000 grant from a local non-profit agency to learn how to better serve children in the community living with disabilities. The $5,000 grant was provided by KIT, which stands for Kids Included Together, a non-profit organization founded in 1997. The mission of Kids Included Together is to support recreational, child development, and youth development programs that include children with and without disabilities. KIT's goals are to enrich the lives of all who participate and to increase understanding and acceptance of disabilities as a natural part of life.

The greatest impact Sulpizio's inclusion program has had on the Poway community is in helping young people with ADHD and Autism to learn social skills, and help all Club members interact with more empathy and understanding.

The partnership with KIT has affected not only the Sulpizio Club and surrounding community, but other communities and Clubs as well, through staff attendance at training sessions. Levels of awareness have been raised at all of our club sites and all staff are more comfortable welcoming members with disabilities into all programs and activities of the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Thanks to the awareness raised by this and other KIT grants around the community the Boys & Girls Clubs San Diego County Professional Association provided an inclusion workshop at the 2005 Middle Managers Conference held on March 3rd.

From the San Diego Union Tribune
By Amy Oakes
UNION TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

February 17, 2006

An ambitious plan to give the Encanto Boys & Girls Club a major makeover is turning into a community project.

A local chapter of a building and real estate group cleaned the gym and painted the interior walls. Eagle Scouts installed new backboards on the basketball court. A local job-training center demolished part of the main building to make way for new offices.

Photo by EARNIE GRAFTON / Union-Tribune Sara Yarbrough, secretary of the Encanto Boys & Girls Club for 30 years, joked about the club's makeover. "I just hope I don't retire before it's finished," she said. “We've been using all of our resources,” said Kim Morgan, a member of the Encanto branch's advisory board.

Boys & Girls Club officials are relying heavily on volunteers and donations to complete about $513,000 worth of work. They are stretching the $191,000 in county, city and private funds by seeking discounts on materials and labor.

The low-cost approach means the project may take a while.

“It won't run on a tight deadline,” said Laura Smith, who oversees the club.

“I just hope I don't retire before it's finished,” joked Sara Yarbrough, who has been the club's secretary for three decades.

The Encanto branch, at 6785 Imperial Ave., is one of four Boys & Girls Clubs being renovated as part of a capital improvement campaign. The other branches are in Clairemont, Linda Vista and Logan Heights.

The branch developed a list of needed improvements based on the building's condition and recommendations from club members, Smith said. The branch then searched for funding, volunteers and donations.

The projects include building a new entryway closer to the parking lot, landscaping, painting the building's interior and expanding the kitchen. There had been plans to build a teen center separate from the building, but that proved to be too costly, Smith said.

Construction began in June on new offices and the future entryway with the demolition of the technology lab, Smith said. The work was halted until more donations came in. Work should resume in two weeks.

Yarbrough, who checks in each child, said she's looking forward to having her own office. Currently, she greets people from a desk just inside the doorway.

In her 30 years at the club as its secretary and girls program director, Yarbrough has watched as children grew into adults and the building became a community hub.

“I've seen so much improvement,” she said.

The Encanto branch was once a grocery store, Smith said. In 1972, the Boys & Girls Club moved into the building, which was built in 1958.

Over the years, a gym and education center were added, Smith said. The last major overhaul to the 14,556-square-foot facility was three years ago, when the carpets were replaced.

Today, the club has 700 children registered. On average, about 100 children show up each day. The club is open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It opens at noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

During the summer and when school is out, the club opens at 7 a.m.

On a recent day, children began arriving before the club opened. Most just lingered outside, constantly looking through the glass door.

“Miss Sara, what time is it?” asked a girl, 10 minutes before the door opened.

“Not yet,” Yarbrough answered with a smile. The girl is a regular, she said.

Yarbrough knows a lot about the children who show up each day, and she even dreams about them sometimes. She knows the troublemakers and the ones who just like to be around her or need help with homework.

“A lot of kids just come down and hang in the lobby,” she said. “I don't mind. I talk to them. They keep me going.”

The children return to visit long after their days at the Boys & Girls Club have passed, Yarbrough said. Sometimes their parents stop by with updates about their children. For Yarbrough, those are the sweetest moments of her job – to see the children become successes.

“I got some good memories,” she said, her eyes tearing up.

Jacque Jones, the former Minnesota Twins outfielder who signed with the Chicago Cubs in December, stopped by last summer to say hello, Yarbrough said. He frequented the club as a youngster.

“The day he walked in that door my heart just melted,” Yarbrough said. “I was so proud of him.”

Such memories keep Yarbrough coming to work every day. She turned 55 earlier this month but isn't sure when she'll retire.

Smith said she's optimistic that the work will be done by June. She also said she couldn't imagine the Boys & Girls Club without Yarbrough.

“She's definitely the heart of the club,” Smith said.

At the end of 2005, we said goodbye to four amazing staff members: Holland Conneely, Rob Damwijk, Don Ransom and Holly Malan. All four individuals dedicated over 15 years of their lives to working in the Clubs and, most importantly, to helping the members. We will miss each of them dearly.

Holland Conneely is sad to be leaving, but is excited to move on to another phase of her life. She and her fiancé have owned a lodge down in Costa Rica for two years. Due to unexpected circumstances, they need to be more hands-on with the business. They plan to move down to Costa Rica at the beginning of 2006. Holland says she plans to lead a simple and good life and continue as a volunteer in youth work in her new hometown.

Holland (right) accepts recognition from Michelle Regan at all-staff meeting

Holland has been a staff member of the club for 19 years. She started at the Linda Vista Branch as a lifeguard. During her time here, she has worked as a lifeguard, gamesroom leader, day camp leader, program director, branch director, and most recently, area director. Much of the success of the Linda Vista Branch can be attributed to Holland (and the many talented and dedicated people who have worked at the Club over the years). She says in her early days, the club was not the thriving, busy youth center it is today but was often deserted. There were a lot of adult gang members hanging around inside and outside the building. Many kids were afraid to come to the club. She started the day camp program to attract new members and to start some organized activities for kids. It wasn’t easy, but she re-created the branch. One of her dreams was to see a teen center built in Linda Vista. She inspired other people in the community to believe in her dream. The teen center opened at the end of 2005 – Holland was able to see her dream come true!

Rob (right) receiving thanks and handshake from Danny Sherlock at all-staff meeting

Rob Damwijk is popularly referred to as “Rob, the DJ”. As most people close to the Club know, Rob runs a successful DJ business during the weekends. He has an opportunity to expand his business and that requires his full time attention. Rob says it was a difficult decision to make.

Rob has been working with Clubs for over 22 years. Before coming to San Diego, he worked for clubs in Simi Valley and San Fernando. He has been with our organization for 19 years. He started at the Mitchell Branch as the Core Services Director. His other titles have included: branch director, senior branch director, director of program services and area director. He has been instrumental in expanding programs to new sites. As senior branch director, he not only oversaw the Mitchell Branch, but he also started programs in Valley Center and the middle schools in Escondido. Today, the Valley Center Branch has expanded to two modular buildings and is packed with kids daily. The middle school programs have expanded into the X-Track program.

Rob also played a key role in expanding services into the Poway/4S Ranch area. He ran programs at several school sites for a number of years. In 2004, he helped open two beautiful new club houses. Both sites have been thriving since opening day.

Holly Malan has resigned her position with the Clubs to take on the role of Recreation Superintendent in the Community Services Dept for the City of San Marcos.Holly has been a staff member of the club for almost 22 years. She started at the Mitchell Branch as an administrative assistant. Holly’s organizational, leadership and programming skills were an asset to the organization and she moved on to other positions. She served as director of operations, assistant director, director of development, director of professional development and, most recently, area director.

Holly created the award-winning program Tele-Pal. Tele-Pal consisted of volunteers answering phone calls from young people who were home alone after school. Kids would call to check in, ask homework questions, or just talk to a caring adult. The program offered a friendly voice to talk to in the critical after school hours and was a big hit in the community. United Way eventually began running a similar program and there was no longer a need for the Club to continue to run a separate program.

After 16 years of dedication to the organization, Don Ransom is departing from the Club so he can focus on healing his body from his battle with cancer.

Don began his Boys & Girls Club career as the program director in Lakeside Club at the Boys & Girls Clubs of East County. Don joined the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego when the Ramona Branch opened in 2000. A tireless worker, Don would do whatever necessary to not only do the job, but to do the job seamlessly.

A former boxer and all around athlete, Don made an immediate impact on our athletic programs. He instrumentally assisted in expanding athletic programs through building leagues, establishing a youth officiating program, and training staff from both our organization and outside organizations. Don coached travel basketball teams and conducted track meets serving as the Marshall and head starter.

Don’s experience and leadership enhanced and increased numbers in both Ramona’s day camp an dafter school drop-in programs. His competitiveness drove others to pursue quality in operations. Don’s willingness to mentor others insured that all these fine traits will continue to flourish beyond his involvement with the Boys & Girls Clubs!

Holland, Rob, Holly and Don have shared their talent, enthusiasm and knowledge with staff and members throughout the organization. They have all been a tremendous asset to the organization and will be thoroughly missed.

Margaret Freund (right) with CEO Danny Sherlock at Poway groundbreaking ceremony

The Sulpizio Family Branch in Poway dedicated the nutrition center to honor long time supporter, Margaret Freund. About 7 years ago,a gentleman and his mother came to the Boys & Girls Clubs where Rob Damwijk, then Area Director of the Sulpizio Family Branch, gave them a tour. When CEO, Danny Sherlock returned to the Club from a Rotary meeting, he was told that they would like to sponsor something at the Club. They were interested in naming the gym. The new Mitchell Branch gymnasium was named the McLaughlin-Freund Gymnasium. It was the largest gift ever given to the Club at that time.

Over the following seven years, Danny and Sally Sargent would regularly visit with Margaret and Sassy, her dog. Margaret was so funny and such a pleasure to visit with. Danny and Sally are thankful to the Freund family for being a part of the Boys & Girls Clubs family and for the seven wonderful years they spent visiting with Margaret.

Margaret ’s children,Fred Freund and Sally Salztein wanted to honor their mom by sponsoring a room at the Sulpizio Family Branch.There were two open: the Nutrition Center and the Administrative Center. They chose the Nutrition Center.

At the dedication ceremony, Sally Salztein thanked the Boys &Girls Clubs for visiting Margaret and proving that “you don’t have to be a part of a family to be accepted into the family!”

On Thursday, December 1st, more than 100 volunteers from the Home Depot, the Boys & Girls Club and the Linda Vista Community joined forces with the nonprofit organization KaBoom! to build a state-of-the-art, 2,500 square foot playground.

Michelle Regan, the Boys & Girls Club's Vice President of Operations stated that, "this playground will provide a safe, fun environment for our Club members. KaBoom! and Home Depot have been truly fantastic! This is the third playground they have made possible in the past 2 years."

The playground was made possible through a $47,200 grant from The Home Depot and a $10,000 contribution from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego. The project is part of KaBoom! and the Home Depot's efforts to create and refurbish 1,000 playspaces in 1,000 days.

Press the "play" button to see event slide show.

Five years ago, John Alioto joined our organization as a volunteer committee member. A year later, John became one of our most dedicated Board members!

Julius Paeske, a Board member at the time, brought John in to help the Property Management Committee. John ’s more than 30-year background in property management made him a great asset to this committee. He would attend a meeting, commit to multiple tasks, and call back the same day, with all tasks completed!

John has done so much for our Clubs! His contacts have led to numerous donations including the painting of our Oakes Branch (valued at $10,000), new lighting in our gym at the Clairemont Branch (valued at $3,000), and most recently, a brand new field at our Clairemont Branch (valued at $25,000). We have also received thousands of dollars worth of discounts through John on many projects including the painting and re-roofng of our Clairemont and Encanto Branches.

John is a native San Diegan, attended USD, joined the Air Force for four years and returned to San Diego to pursue his career in property management. He worked for William Walters Management for years before buying the company with his partner. John is now Chairman of Walters Management. He is a past president of the San Diego chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management, the San Diego County Apartment Association and the California Apartment Association. His commitment and participation earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Diego County Apartment Association.

For this devoted and hard-working Board member,we are so thankful!

Gary Levine (pictured in neck tie) of G.S. Levine Insurance, San Diego's premier community-based insurance agency, won the local Chubb Charity Classic Golf Tournament and received $2500. He moved on to the National tournament where he won another $6000. In December 2005, Levine donated his $8500 winnings to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego.

Gary Levine is a long-time, generous supporter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego. He received the Golden Achievement Award in 2004 in recognition of his philanthropic nature.

At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego, we recognize our employees who go above and beyond their job responsibilities to help make their Club a positive place for the kids, fellow staff, and community members.

Level One Professional Achievement Recipients Level Two Professional Achievement Recipients

Congratulations Staff For:

Level One Professional Achievement Recipients:

Karen Colomb and Niesha Lawson—Clairemont Branch

Mike Haight and Jose Lopez—Mitchell Branch

Sean Evans and Ryan Fillweber—Ramona Branch

Tanya Cottrell and Linsey Gilbert—Valley Center Branch

Level Two Professional Achievement Recipients:

Claribel Valdovinos-Baker Branch

Ruth Cassidy and Joyce Janabajal—Clairemont Branch

Tracey Chadwick—Mitchell Branch

Veronica Gutierrez—Valley Center Branch

Academy of Boys & Girls Club Professionals - Management Inductees

Rob Damwijk - Sulpizio Family & 4S Ranch Branches

Greg Soffe - X-Track