A recent visit to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County Edgewood, Md., Clubhouse provided a textbook example of how partnerships help Clubs impact more kids and engage communities.
The occasion was the announcement of new mentoring programs that will benefit 200 local kids, including 110 children of military families. It’s worth noting that 25 of these military youth live at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), the nearby U.S. Army installation. This is the first joint mentoring program between the Harford County organization and APG to serve on-base kids. The program will address issues unique to today’s military families, such as the stress that increased deployments and relocations can cause.
U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) was on hand to help announce the new mentoring initiative. The senator was duly recognized for her longtime support of Boys & Girls Clubs and young people throughout Maryland. Since her days as a Baltimore social worker, Sen. Mikulski has been a true champion of youth. As Chairwoman of the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee, she plays a lead role in securing funding for vital mentoring programs through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
It was a pleasure to meet Senator Mikulski (center)and learn about the STEM programs at the Harford County Club. Randy Acosta (right) was our gracious host.
A tour of the Club led by Chief Professional Officer Randy Acosta and Interim CPO Tim Willis was an opportunity to meet several members. Even though the kids were engaged in various activities, they were excited to talk about the eventful summer they’d enjoyed at the Club. Some, for instance, even learned to build robots through the Club’s Let’s Go STEM program.
The Club’s partnership with the STEM advocacy group FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) allowed several kids to take part in a hands-on robotics program. And they created some amazing stuff, including a hovercraft made of common household items. I mean it really worked! They even let me test-drive it. Congratulations to the young people who created this incredibly cool transport.
I’d like to thank Randy, Tim and everyone at the Harford County organization for hosting this wonderful event. The new mentoring programs and Club members’ clear love for learning is a great reminder why the Formula for Impact is the right tool for all of us and our kids. Fun, high-yield activities and targeted programs are the core of the outcome-driven Club Experience.
