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Mayor Presents Proclamation During Rally For Lights On After School

Children, parents, business and community leaders joined The BGCIB in a Lights On Afterschool rally - one of 7,500 such events held across the nation on October 18, 2007. The events at The Club and each of its Licensed Childcare Programs located on local elementary school campuses emphasized the importance of keeping the lights on and the doors open for after-school programs. Tight budgets, rising housing prices are endangering after-school programs around the country, forcing many programs to cut back or possibly even closing their doors.

City Mayor Jim Janney presented the BGCIB with a City Proclamation at last week's city council meeting, proclaiming October 18, 2007, as Lights on Afterschool! Day in the City, and encouraged all citizens to join in recognizing and supporting the important role the BGCIB and their after school programs play in providing every child throughout the South Bay access to a safe, friendly place where the lights are on everyday after school.
'Lights On Afterschool' participants observed student art and science displays, joined in a game of pool, played bingo, made Halloween crafts and dug for dinosaur artifacts. Parents and community members saw firsthand the importance of after-school programs.
The nationwide events marked the eighth annual 'Lights On Afterschool!', sponsored by the Afterschool Alliance.  It is estimated millions of children in the United States are alone and unsupervised each afternoon after the school day ends as government funding has not kept up with demand.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger returned as the Chair of 'Lights On Afterschool!' again this year.
"Lights On Afterschool celebrates the remarkable work being done by students who attend our after-school programs," said Patricia B. Director of the Clubs licensed after-school  program. "After-school programs keep children safe and help them learn, while relieving working parents of worries about how their children spend their afternoons. Unfortunately, many parents can't afford after-school care and waiting lists for subsidized programs are full so many kids are home alone in the afternoons, or out on the streets where they can be exposed to crime or engage in dangerous behaviors. The BGCIB is committed to doing all it can to ensure that, in the very near future, every south bay child who needs an after-school program has one. Afterschool is key to children's success."
"We are all so proud of our after-school students," said Oneonta Site Director Pete S. "There's no reason that learning should stop at 3 pm, particularly if the alternative is unsupervised time in front of a television set, or any of the dangerous or unhealthy behaviors that can ensnare children in the afternoons. 
'Lights On Afterschool' is a nationwide event to recognize the critical importance of quality after-school programs in the lives of children, their families and communities. Our program doesn't just benefit kids and parents; it also helps local businesses, the community, the city, the state and our nation. By keeping the kids safe we keep the community safe and we are training the leaders and workforce of the future. We all benefit when children have access to after-school programs."

Photo Caption  Mayor Jim Janney presents B&GCIB Staff Aaron R. and Eddie F. the Proclamation announcing Lights On Afterschool! Day in the City recognizing and supporting the important role the BGCIB and their after school programs play in providing every child throughout the City access to a safe, friendly place where the lights are on everyday after school.

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SHUTTING DOWN AFTER 24 YEARS! JUNE 30, 2008 LAST DAY!

 The Boys & Girls Club of Imperial Beach has learned that the local school district is not renewing our contract and we are being forced to shut down 10 school sites and turning away 150 children and their families. Our last day will be June 26, 2008. This will be our last report.

EARTH DAY 2008

CHILDREN LEARN 4R'S OF EARTH DAY;

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, AND RESCUE

On Tuesday April 22, 2008 people around the country including Imperial Beach celebrated the 38^th anniversary of Earth Day. It was an especially busy day for students enrolled in the Boys & Girls Club of Imperial Beach licensed before and after-school program at Oneonta Elementary School as the children spent the entire week taking part in different activities honoring Mother Nature.

Earth Day, which was launched by Congress in 1970 championed by Senator Gaylord Nelson who thought a special day was needed to bring awareness to everyone about the things that needed changing in our environment.

Students at the B&G Clubs Oneonta Extension spent the week learning what part they could play in helping to relieve some of the burden on Mother Nature not just for Earth Day but for every day of the rest of their lives. 

On Monday the children studied 22 things they and their parents could be doing on a daily basis including; Not wasting food, just taking what they could eat; to keep sharpening pencils until it was to small to use; use a lunch box instead of paper or plastic bags; to walk, ride a bike or take a bus around town and the children's favorite: wear your clothes for more then one day.

On Tuesday, the group did some work in their neglected outdoor garden and picked up trash around the playground. Beautifying these areas was hard work, but it had a humorous and exciting ending. As they were picking up trash one of the children called out his discovery "Mouse" yelled 4^th grader Tavian McKinney and in a flash all the children were gathered along side a classroom to see a very tiny and now scared mouse. An albino, white fur and red eyes not much bigger then one of kids thumbs it looked healthy but cowered in fear. Pete Salisbury, the Oneonta Site Director scooped the mouse up into a small cage normally reserved for the occasional bug but now furnished for a rodent.

The children quickly finished the clean up and turned their attention to the furry find now safely resting in the cage burying itself under woodchip bedding. Names for the mouse were being bantered about most keeping with an Earth Day theme and finally it was down to two. Recycle and Ozone. Recycle won out but the Ozone group has yet to concede defeat.

The week continued with the children bringing in toys, games, books, and stuffed animals that they no longer wanted and piling it up so they could play the sites annual Recycle Bingo game with everyone taking home something they wanted from the pile.

Ending the week, the group raided several recycling bins to build their own Earth Day sculptures. The lesson for the week was complete; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rescue.

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