HARTFORD, Conn. – Trinity College and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford hosted a family and community barbecue on Monday, June 2, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Trinity College Boys & Girls Club at the Thomas S. and Ann Johnson Building at 1500 Broad Street. About 100 people attended: young club members and their families, along with Trinity President James F. Jones, Jr.; Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford President and CEO Sam Gray; Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez; club staff, volunteers, and board members; community leaders; and students and staff from Trinity College.
For children who attended, event highlights included face painting, balloons, ice cream, and having T-shirts autographed by the Mayor and others. Children and their families sang “Happy Birthday” and offered a standing ovation in tribute to community leaders and Trinity alumnus Thomas S. Johnson and his wife, Ann, for their leadership in providing the support to found the club 10 years ago. For families and community members, the event marked a decade in the life of a club that has provided children with a safe place to learn and grow; ongoing relationships with caring adults and Trinity College students; and an environment where the kids’ self-esteem is enhanced and they’re inspired to achieve their full potential, all while having fun.
As the first Boys & Girls Club in the United States affiliated with a college or university, the Trinity College Boys & Girls Club has served as the national model for the Boys & Girls Clubs’ “Clubs Go to College” program. Trinity students, under the guidance of the Boys and Girls Club staff, assist in running many of the club’s programs for its 500 members. The club or its members have won numerous awards and accolades, including most recently the Keystone National Leadership Award, given by the National Boys & Girls Clubs to a club team.
Members of the Trinity College Boys & Girls Club, along with children from four other local clubs, receive free ice skating lessons at Trinity’s Koeppel Community Sports Center twice a week during the school year from Trinity volunteers. This summer, Boys & Girls Club members will learn to roller-blade at the center.
Hartford is the birthplace of the national Boys & Girls Club organization and Trinity students were involved as volunteers at the original club, founded in 1860 as the Dashaway Club. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford (www.bgchartford.org) have been a leading provider of services to young people from disadvantaged economic, social, and family circumstances, providing year-round after-school and non-school hours programs, services, and support. Yearly membership fees are affordable: 6- to 12-year-olds pay $3 and 13- to 18-year-olds pay $5. In Hartford there are a total of 10 Boys & Girls Club locations serving more than 7,200 children each year. Nationwide there are 4,300 Boys & Girls Clubs serving more than 4.8 million youth annually. Famous alumni of Boys & Girls Clubs include Bill Cosby, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Jennifer Lopez.
