Boys & Girls Clubs of King County Appoints
Dave Remer to Board of Directors Press Release

2013 Youth of the Year

On Tuesday, February 12, 11 King County teens competed at Boys & Girls Clubs of King County’s 2013 Youth of the Year Awards Luncheon. All the nominees are exceptional teens who are a reflection of our extraordinary staff and volunteers. Congratulations to the 2013 Youth of the Year, Delannah Collins-Wright from the Joel E. Smilow Clubhouse & Teen Center at Rainier Vista!

This well rounded scholar and student leader has been a member of the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club for nearly five years. Delannah, 16, is a junior at Cleveland High School.

“I used to be a C student, but the Club staff knew I could do better,” says Delannah. “They connected me with a tutor. I am extremely excited to now consistently be on the honor roll. I credit both SRV and my family for keeping me on track.”

Each teen told his or her story before a panel of distinguished judges and a crowd of 250 people at the Washington Athletic Club. The honorees were chosen by their Clubs for their dedication to service, academic commitment, strength of character and life goals.

A special thanks to our sponsors! Microsoft was the presenting and annual sponsor of the event.  Additional sponsors were Princess Cruises, Washington Athletic Club, Macy’s Thanks for Sharing, the Jim Mora Count on Me Family Foundation and dex.

To learn more about Delannah and the other 10 exceptional teens, read the event press release.

Dear Boys & Girls Clubs of King County parents, guardians and community members,
              
Safety is our #1 priority and we want you to know what that means to you, your family, and most importantly your kids. It is important to us that you know how to access all of the necessary information about child safety within the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County.

The timing of this notice is due to the fact that a local reporter has been building a story about child safety within the Boys & Girls Clubs nationally, regionally and even locally. This story could run as early as this weekend or sometime within the month. This same information sharing is happening across our network of 4,000 Clubs. 

Strict child safety policy information we would like to share with you:

• Our job is to keep your kids safe and provide a positive place for them to grow.
• Safety is our #1 priority.
• We guard kids’ safety with mandatory and routine background checks on all potential staff and volunteers, require staff and volunteers to follow strict policies and procedures, continuously update and offer routine trainings and build a culture of safety in all of our clubs.
• We employ a zero-tolerance policy is there is any disregard of our procedures. If any issues of concern are brought to our attention, the police and Child Protective Services are immediately contacted.
• Our organization has had two issues in the past few years at the Wallingford Club that have involved two teen members. We involved the police immediately in both instances and are in constant communication with the authorities.
• We are continuously seeking to improve our safety efforts. For example, we consistently incorporate the national BGCA safety standards and we are working with other community organizations to strengthen our safety programming through new trainings.
• Every day, we work with kids to reinforce their knowledge of self-defense and safety smarts. We provide every opportunity to make sure their voices are heard.

If you have any concerns or questions, you can reach out to your Regional Director (see below) or a local Club Director. You can also send questions to CEOfeedback@positiveplace.org. Additionally, the national organization offers a 24-hour hotline, 1-866-607-SAFE, and has developed a child safety portal, accessible through www.positiveplace.org.

Thank you again for your support of our 16,000 plus kids.   

Calvin Lyons
President/CEO
Boys & Girls Clubs of King County
CEOfeedback@positiveplace.org

Jane Ronngren, Director of Early Learning & Child Care
jrongrenn@positiveplace.org
Cell (206) 422-4512

Doug Wozeniak, Regional Director - East
dwozeniak@positiveplace.org
Cell 425-221-5982

Patrick M. Murray, Regional Director – North and South
pmurray@positiveplace.org
Cell 206-388-6440

Click here for Child Club Safety Information

Click here for Child Safety Q&A

World’s Largest Snowball Fight to Benefit BGCKC on January 12
Proceeds from Snow Day on 1/12/13 will benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of King County. The event will bring 162,000 lbs. of snow from the mountain passes into Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center. Local organizations will then shape the snow into forts and castles in an epic competition. Minutes after the most majestic snow fort is crowned, 6,000 people will wreak havoc on the snow village in an attempt to break the record for the World’s Largest Snowball Fight (officially held by the Republic of Korea with 5,387 participants). All of this will build community by embracing the inner child in all of us.
Snow Day is looking for companies to build forts and snow warriors who are interested in setting a world record. If you think your company would be interested in having an amazing time while supporting kids in our community, please join the fight. Visit snow.co for more information. Read the press release here.

Boys & Girls Clubs of County KidsAuction 2012 Achieves Close to $800,000. Read More

From the Clubs

Full 90 for Life

The Seattle Sounders FC and Coca-Cola Refreshments donated $100,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of King County to support the organization's healthy and active living programs. A portion of this donation goes to the Full 90 for Life program, which rolled out at our Smilow Rainier Vista Clubhouse June 27, 2011. Watch the Sounders FC program HERE!

Living in Gangland

KUOW reporter Vanessa Romo takes a look at our Smilow Clubhouse at Rainier Vista and their success at keeping some kids out of gangs and off the street. Listen to the story here.

SMART girls Sleepover

Girls from across King County came together for a sleepover on March 11th. Click to watch the video!

Holidays at the Clubs 2010

Click to watch the video!

Halloween at the Clubs 2010

Click to watch the video!

In the News

Press Releases

Rhythmic Gymnastics Group Performs at KidsAuction 2012
Nova Gymnastics Academy has worked together with the Federal Way Boys and Girls Club and EX3 Ron Sandwith Teen Center to create an elite rhythmic gymnastics program for young girls. Directed by Katerina Furlong, a former U.S. Elite Team member, the club has produced some of the region's top rhythmic gymnasts. Click here to learn more about the program: www.washingtongymnasticsacademy.com.

Contact Katerina Furlong, President of Nova Gymnastics Academy, at 206-618-5946 to learn more about rhythmic gymnastics opportunities at your Club.

May 2012

Thank you Seattle Foundation & GiveBIG Sponsors!

Thank you to the Seattle Foundation and our generous donors for supporting GiveBIG!

On May 2, 2012, generous online donors raised a total of $12,481. And with the help of the Seattle Foundation GiveBIG stretch pool, we raised an additional $1,442!

That’s $13,923 for our kids! Your generosity enables us to be there for every child, especially those who need us most.

GiveBIG generated $7.43 million in online contributions to more than 1,100 non-profits, many of whom had never participated before. The day was proof of the amazing spirit of giving in our community.

March 2012

Press Release Archives

From the Clubs Archives

In the News Archives