Word on the Street

A Legendary Night at Aloha Stadium

2012-02-13T18:09:00.031-10:00

On Saturday night, 6 boys from the Spalding Clubhouse flag football teams were fortunate enough to receive full scholarships from Pepsi Co. to participate in the Barefoot League "Field of Legends" football skills clinic at Aloha Stadium. Eric, Braxton, Kreole, Clein, Caleb and Aria all had a great time learning from some of Hawaii's greatest athletes and coaches. Favorites like Colt Brennan taught the kids how to improve their ability to catch and throw, and gave them tips for jumping higher and running faster. And maybe one of the coolest parts of it all was playing under the lights at Aloha Stadium! In the words of Clein, "It was the best night ever!"

Kreole listens intently before beginning the drill.

Clein almost won the throwing contest into the goal!

Braxton ran hard throughout the entire night!

Aria eyes his target before throwing the ball.

Eric poses with Mr. Jeric after the teen clinic finished.

Caleb was really fast at the side-step drill!

The boys were excited and exhausted after a night full of football drills at Aloha Stadium!

Spalding Scrimmages at Chaminade University

2012-02-06T17:17:00.087-10:00

This past Saturday 20 youth from the Spalding basketball teams, 10 boys and 10 girls, were invited to show off their skills at halftime at the Chaminade basketball games and also to cheer on both the women's' and men's teams. First the girls played against each other while Coach Jeric announced their layups, shots and even a few three-pointers, and Coach Bri & Coach Hali encouraged the girls from the sidelines. Check out what a few of the girls had to say about the experience:

"We went to Chaminade to cheer on the players. It was so fun that I lost my voice! At halftime we played a game and I made a three-pointer. Bam!" - Jasmine

"I had a blast at Chaminade because I learned that no matter what if you lose a game you still win. I learned that you need to have good grades to play sports. When you play a sport you have to practice early in the morning. I wish we can go back. I had so much fun!" - Ana

"Chaminade was fun. I learned that on defense or offense when I block the other person I should be aggressive. The game was so fun since my team got to play on the court. It was so exciting." - Kaili

"I had so much fun at the Chaminade game because we got to meet the players. Thank you so much for feeding us. I think the Chaminade players are so good at playing. Its okay that they lost but at least they looked happy when they were done. My aunts and uncles all graduated from Chaminade." - Jay

While the kids waited for the men's game to start, they were lucky to participate in a meet-and-greet with the women's team players, the Athletic Director Bill Villa and the men's head coach Eric Bovaird. The kids enjoyed pizza and cookies and asked the athletes questions about what it was like to go to college, what their majors were and the challenges of being a full-time student and athlete. It was a great way for the kids to interact with positive role models that emphasized the importance of education first!

For the second game, Coach Jeric and Coach Brown were on the sidelines for the boy's teams while Coach Hali played the role of announcer. The boys played an exciting scrimmage against each other in front of a full gymnasium. Here's what the boys shared about the game:

"When I went to Chaminade I learned something when I saw the women and men’s basketball games. My favorite player was Benie because he gave me a good example of how to play correctly. I liked it because they got us pizza and more. I especially liked about going there playing on the court and I was happy that I made a three-pointer. Thank you for letting us come and also play in half-time. That was really fun. Please invite us again and we will cheer you on!" – Akira

"My favorite part of the night was playing on the basketball court at halftime against the other boys. I also liked that we got to meet all the basketball players. At the game I saw a lot of rebounding and blocking. What I learned is not to give up and to do my best and make a lot of goals and always try to get our rebounds." - Jonathan

The Spalding players were really grateful for the fun experience they had cheering on the Chaminade teams and having an opportunity to be in the spotlight on the large court. They proudly wore their BGCH tee-shirts and represented the Club well on the college campus. Mahalo to Bill Villa and Coach Eric for the memorable experience!

Play60! Pro Bowl Clinics are a Hit!

2012-01-30T10:13:00.037-10:00

Over 200 youth from Boys & Girls Clubs across Oahu came together to learn new football and cheerleading skills from professional NFL athletes at Kapiolani Park this past Saturday. The sea of kids in their Pro Bowl tee shirts was a sight to see as they all ran, jumped, threw, and caught in the football drills. The girls were cheering loudly together as they learned new cheers and brought team spirit to the Play60 event. Kristy loved the contest to see which group was the loudest! The athletes were positive, friendly and energetic as they worked with the youth. They emphasized the importance of 60 minutes of physical activity every day and they taught the kids that the number one rule when doing physical fitness is to have FUN! The youth were stoked to get shirts, bags, water bottles and autographs from NFL stars such as Vince Manuwai, Samson Satele, and Nick Sorensen.

Youth like Clein were grateful for the awesome experience they had. He shared: “The Pro Bowl clinic was fun because we had a lot of drills. My favorite part was when we had autographs on our tee shirts. I also like the part when we had our dougie contest. When we left the clinic we couldn’t wait to get back and tell everybody how much fun we had.”

Clein can't stop smiling the whole time through the clinic!

A big thanks to the NFL for offering this great opportunity to our Club youth!

Meet Me at the Movies!

2012-01-29T16:15:00.000-10:00

This Saturday the teens went on their first of many "teens only" field trips to the movies to see Underworld: Awakening. The series of monthly excursions provides the teens with fun activities that promote peer bonding, prosocial behavior, opportunities for recruitment and positive alternatives for teens to become involved in. The funding for the program was made available by Club teen Ben F., who won a $3,000 grant (to match a $3,000 scholarship) from JC Penney last year. Ben decided to use a portion of the funding specifically for the Leaders in Training program, and also save some of it for fun opportunities to attract more teens to the Boys & Girls Club. The funding helps offer the field trips to teens for little to no cost. One of the coolest parts is that the teens get to have a say in what field trips are offered and help the teen staff find fun opportunities that would interest new members.

Lina, Lynda and Mere are all teens from Stevenson Middle School that have helped recruit more girls into the program!

Check out what Tholman had to say about the trip: “I would love to do this kind of activity again, and it gave us teens opportunities to know more about each other. For me personally I loved it because I got to know more people and they all kind of showed their personality. Right now we would love to also go to the WATER PARK that would be fun, and plus we all agreed on it, I’m just joking but we discussed it and we would love to go to that field trip. It would be a blast, to both boys and girls, and staff.”

Teen Staff Bri and Hali pose with John and Dandan

Next month's trip will be a bowling outing at Fort Shafter! Teens who recruit new members into the Teen Center receive a discount on the program fee!

Debuting the BGCH Commercial!

2012-01-26T08:37:00.000-10:00

A Place to BE - Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii commercial from BGCH Media on Vimeo.

Check out the BGCH Commercial that the youth at the Spalding Clubhouse helped Franz make! This was shown at our Rededication Celebration, and also shared with the Corporate Board at our annual kick-off meeting. The response was very positive--all of the viewers loved how it captured the spirit of the Club.

Going Green with Solar Panels!

2012-01-15T16:08:00.001-10:00

The Spalding Boys & Girls Club started 2012 with a major initiative to GO GREEN! Nearly 100 solar panels or photovoltaic systems were installed by PhotonWorks at the end of 2011. The solar panels will dramatically reduce energy costs for the Club (meaning more money for programs and activities!!) and also work to protect our environment. Additionally, PhotonWorks donated an iMac station that will be used to teach our members about conservation and they will be able to track our energy usage and energy savings with a special program. This project was very special to John Ogrodney from PhotonWorks because he was actually an alumnus of the Spalding Clubhouse himself when he was a child. To learn more about the system, watch the video below!

Let's Make Charlie Proud!

2012-01-04T10:01:00.029-10:00

At the Spalding Clubhouse, our staff team whole-heartedly believes in our mantra, Be Great. That’s why we were so excited to ring in the New Year with a Rededication Celebration of the Charles C. Spalding Clubhouse to commemorate all of the positive changes that the Club has gone through during the past six months to improve the facility and programming. Starting back in the summer of 2011, we began the process of cleaning out, reorganizing and renovating the clubhouse to better utilize space for programs and youth. Over the past six months the whole Club was transformed with the help of community partners and the staff to make it the best place for any youth, parent, volunteer, board member and employee to be on a daily basis. The exterior of the building was repainted brightly and with murals in the back parking lot to make the Club stand out and become more inviting. The second-story art room was converted into the Media Arts Center, while the Learning Center was transformed into “Discovery Zone,” a space dedicated to provide more specific programming to the Clubs’ youngest members. The Games Room and hallway were repainted and redecorated to provide inspiration as members entered the Club and socialized in the main hub of the facility. The Teen Center was also repainted, a media lab was added and it became its own separate unit to increase teen membership and exclusivity. Solar panels were added to the rooftop to decrease energy costs, and finally and most importantly a sign was added to the King Street side of the building to clearly mark the building as the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii. All of the transformations made it clear that the Spalding Clubhouse was a key component of the McCully/Mo’ili’ili community and neighborhood, constantly striving for improvement to better serve its youth.

Many members from both the Corporate Board and Branch Board attended the event.

To celebrate all of these changes, the Club hosted a Rededication Celebration on January 3rd. The event started with a complete blessing of the Clubhouse before welcoming nearly 70 guests to tour the Club in an open house. Then visitors were invited to a brief program with special guests and alumni Odeelo Dayondon, who’s Run for the Money campaign raised nearly $2,000 for the Spalding Club and John Ogrodney from Photonworks that donated an iMac computer station so youth can track the solar panel activity on the roof. Additionally, the guests had an opportunity to view a “through the years” video montage with the youth singing “At the Beginning” in the background, and they saw the debut of the BGCH commercial that the youth created with the help of Media Mentor Franz and two other film professionals. The event was a huge success and a great way to get the entire Club community excited for all that is to come in the upcoming year!

Thank you to my amazing program staff for helping to transform our Club and for making the Rededication Celebration possible!

Winter Day Camp – Epic. Awesome. Beast. Swag.

2011-12-31T10:01:00.046-10:00

The last two weeks of 2011 at the Club were spent with a great group of kids in our Winter Day Camp program. Filled to capacity with 55 youth, members ages 7-13 came together to forge new friendships, visit new places on the island and make new discoveries through intentional programming at the Club. The Winter Day Camp program was designed to create a memorable experience for each youth member through a strong sense of group belonging and innovative programs. The members were split into four age-appropriate groups with staff members Dani, Hali, Bri and Jeric (each group exhibited a lot of team pride and named themselves as Team Epic, Team Awesome, Team Beast and Team Swag!). Each staff member would serve as their main group leader on field trips, and as the main group leader for each program rotation at the Club.

Our field trips throughout the week aimed to broaden their horizons and help them become familiar with a variety of experiences and opportunities. At the Japanese Cultural Center, youth had a tour of the museum by a skilled guide and then had an opportunity to play with traditional Japanese toys that were used by immigrant youth during the plantation era. At Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour, the youth learned about how a restaurant works, the different career opportunities in the service field and how delicious freshly made ice cream is! They then had a chance to sit back and relax and watch the movie “The Adventures of Tin Tin” on its very first day of being released in the theaters. At the Honolulu Zoo, we were lucky that one of our branch board members Reid Hinaga was able to set up each of the groups with a guided tour by two of the zoo keepers. They were extremely engaging and entertaining and everyone learned a lot. The kids loved how the animals responded to the guide’s calling them from across the way, and it was amazing to see how the guide was able to make the lioness pounce at the window! Again, after the interactive educational experience, we let the kids relax at the beach in Waikiki. They had a blast working together to make sand castles and animals, swimming in the chilly water, and trying to get the staff members soaked.

Throughout the week, when we weren’t out on an adventure, we were at the Club participating in a variety of programs. Miss Dani led the program “Learn It!” where youth did different science experiments like Elephant Toothpaste and Mentos Rockets, and she got them involved with the Media Center through different projects. Miss Hali led the “Create It!” art program, where the youth decorated gift boxes and made puppy chow to give to share with their parents. Miss Bri was the choir director in “Sing It!” where the kids learned three different songs and then performed one on camera for our upcoming ohana night.

Mr. Jeric kept the kids active with the fitness program “Move It!” where kids played a variety of games in the gym like volleyball and basketball-kickball. He also led the Kids vs. Staff Games program that got the kids working together as a team against the staff in games like tug-of-war, and our Field Day program on the last in-club day of the week. The kids were broken into even teams of a variety of skill levels to compete in activities like the water balloon toss, soccer dribble, basketball run, and relay races. All of the programs fully utilized the Club facility and staff talents so that the youth could really benefit from the day camp.

The second week, the kids ventured across town to the Ice Palace to experience some frigid weather and get active! Ice Palace was hands-down the favorite field trip of the break because the kids loved to skate with their friends and listen to all of the fun music that played at the rink. The staff members had a great time teaching the younger members how to skate and bringing them around the rink hand in hand. The last field trip of the day camp program brought the youth out to the east side of the island.

They hiked up the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail and proudly reached the top to check out the great view of Makapuu Beach and the entire coast. It was a great way to get everyone’s heart rate up and to get a little sweaty before we cooled off at Waimanalo Beach Park. The kids loved that there were more waves than Waikiki Beach and so they shared boogie boards and caught waves all afternoon long until we had to leave. Finishing the week with an activity like a beach day is a great way for all of the kids and staff to relax together, enjoy each other’s company and laugh at all of the fun things that happened throughout the week before.

Check out what the kids had to say about the past two weeks:

I liked Ice Palace best because we can play games and we can skate. I made some new friends during the break. I also had fun when we went to Waikiki Beach because it was fun to make sand castles and play at the beach. –Jung Woo

One of my favorite activities was field day because we were the champs! Another was seeing my best friend Kaylee over break. My favorite thing was seeing Miss Dani, Miss Natalie and the other leaders every day. –Ellie

The best day of intersession was going to Waikiki Zoo and Beach. I also loved playing Just Dance at the Club. Winter day camp was the best two weeks of my life. I want to sign up again next year! –Amina

I love the time when we went to the Ice Palace and were skating because it was my first time. Also I liked when we went to the Zoo because he told us about the lions. Also I liked to sing “Count on Me.” Winter Break was so fun! - Skyler

The most fun I had at Winter Intersession was in “Learn It” when we put Mentos into the diet soda and it exploded. It was fun because during the experiment I tried to drink it while it was exploding! I also liked Winter Day Camp because the staff are all nice and they are all my friends and I hang out with them all the time and they like me because I’m cool. – Ikaika

My favorite day of intersession was when we played volleyball with the staff for Staff vs. Kids challenge. I had fun because we kept scoring points for our team. Also, on the same day we played volleyball for move it! I also liked that day because we played different games and my team won one of the games. Boys & Girls Club-Spalding is the best! BE GREAT! – Suzie

My favorite part of this intersession at the Boys & Girls Club was the rotations because I got to do many different fun activities. My favorite field trip had to be Ice Palace because ice skating was so fun. It was pretty fun coming here and I made lots of friends! -Malia

Kick It with Spalding!

2011-12-18T09:59:00.056-10:00

This fall the Spalding Clubhouse offered a mini soccer season to get kids interested in the sport and to help keep them active in between other longer seasons. The six-week soccer program was able to bring together members of all ages and skill levels. For the elementary youth, they had the opportunity to learn how to dribble the ball, pass to their teammates and practice scoring. It was great to see them learning together and working together as a team. They also learned how important it was to encourage their teammates and to be positive, whether they won or lost. Kristy who joined the Club specifically for the soccer team, shared: "My favorite thing was playing games and learning to kick the ball. Soccer was super awesome."

Kristy, #16, runs after the ball fearlessly while Kamil charges forward!

The older teams had an opportunity to refine their skills through practice and scrimmages. Additionally, they had a joint practice with the Honolulu Bulls soccer team. The joint practice gave youth an opportunity to train with a competitive team program to expose them to a higher skill level. Mikaela, Kristy's older sister who learned about the soccer program through her involvement with Hawaii Youth Symphony said that "I liked going to soccer games and winning the games. I liked how I learned new tricks. I learned that I was actually good at goalie too. I had fun playing with new friends."

Mikaela and Kreole practice their dribbling skills at a Saturday morning soccer match.

Programs like the mini soccer season are a great way for members to try new opportunities at the Club in a pressure-free, FUN environment!

We would like to give a special thanks to Coach Brett and Coach David for volunteering their time with the teams, and to the Honolulu Bulls for bringing their entire team out to our Club for a special practice.

Hoomaluhia Fishing

2011-12-17T10:00:00.048-10:00

Over 30 youth had the opportunity to learn how to fish thanks to PIFG!

Learning how to record fish.

On Friday, December 16^th the Charles C. Spalding youth visited the City & County’s Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe, Hawaii. It was a beautiful day for fishing and not only were the youth excited but the staff were too! Anthony shared, "I was excited about fishing because I've never been fishing and I've never seen fishes before." Uncle Kelvin coordinated the event, bringing together several other volunteers to work with our youth. The volunteers from PIFG taught the youth about how dangerous barbed hooks are to both humans and other sea life, they explained the types of fish they caught and how to record them, and they should the youth how to properly tie a figure eight knot.

Learning how to tie knots!

The kids also learned how to preserve and protect the ocean and other bodies of water like the ponds. Waylon shared that he learned “Hooks with barbs could get stuck on an animal, like a monk seal, and it is hard to take out. Hooks with no barbs are easier to take out and its friendly to the environment and the animals.” The kids learned that if their fishing line breaks and they are using a barbed hook, that hook could now potentially hurt other sea life. So that means that Mr. Turtle that just swam by and ate that seaweed that the barbed hook was caught on is now injured and incapable of eating!

After the kids finished going through each of the teaching stations, they walked down to the pond and every were given their own fishing pole and bread for bait. The youth did a catch-and-release style of fishing and most of them could not wait to touch the slimy fish to set it back free! Waylon said, “My most memorable moment was catching the fish. My biggest one was a Tilapia. I caught two Tilapia and five Red Devils so seven fish total!” All in all the day was informative, and yet exciting for the Spalding youth and staff. Thank you to Uncle Kelvin and his crew for the opportunity and all the fun filled memories!

Spalding Feels the Magic of the Season

2011-12-16T10:00:00.016-10:00

On December 15, 2011 the youth went on an exciting holiday field trip to the Honolulu City Lights display and the Nutcracker Ballet. Youth were shuttled in groups across town to Honolulu Hale with staff members Bri and Dani and alumni volunteer Kellie to explore the holiday decorations. They were able to see the different decorated Christmas trees in Honolulu Hale and take pictures with Mr. and Mrs. Clause, the giant Christmas tree, and the large Mele Kalikimaka sign. Youth enjoyed walking through the display and they all could be seen with their glow in the dark necklaces that were donated for the kids to enjoy.

Anu and Gabe had a blast looking at all the displays!

By 6:00pm staff and youth walked towards the Neal Blaisdell Center for the Ballet Hawaii’s production of the Nutcracker. Youth were given free admission into this event through the Angel program and they were thankful to be able to experience something new. As the lights dimmed you could feel the excitement from the kids that the show was going to start. Youth sat through two acts of the performance and were eager to watch more when the show was finished. They shared that their favorite parts included the toy soldier that did the moon walk, the candy princess with the gigantic skirt, and the Russian dancers that jumped at high as their heads in the splits! The youth found it interesting that they were able to understand and enjoy the ballet even though there were no speaking roles. Mahalo to Ballet Hawaii for giving our youth the opportunity to experience something new!

Thank you Ballet Hawaii for this awesome event!

Hard Work Pays Off!

2011-12-15T09:59:00.027-10:00

December was a busy month for Girl Power. The girls finished up their Media Project with Mr. Franz and held a bake sale to help raise funds to support Girl Power programs in the future—but even with all that madness they had to make time to celebrate the holiday by having a holiday Party. Miss Dani thought the girls deserved something since they were working so hard on their Media Project and in school plus it is Miss Dani’s favorite time of the year so it only made sense to throw a party! The girls got snacks and even some gifts from Miss Dani. Pink Santa hats were given to girls who participated in the Media Project and Girl Power shirts were handed out to the girls who came to more than 75% of the sessions in the quarter.

Jay and Raeanne pose for a cute photo op!

It was great to see new faces getting shirts since a lot of them missed getting them last quarter by a session or two. After presents we moved on to crowning the Girl Power Princess who gets the crown for being an excellent example of what Girl Power stands for—girls who act as role models in the Club, respecting all staff and peers in the Club and make healthy life choices and decisions. Congrats to Jay-Judy for all her hard work and dedication! We finished off the day with a dance party that got everyone on the floor! The girls enjoyed relaxing together and just having an opportunity to be themselves in a safe and fun environment. Miss Dani has done a great job in the past several months to cultivate this program that build self-esteem and confidence, and helps the girls find roles as leaders within the Club.

Hats off to the girls for continually striving to BE GREAT!

Reaching Across the Pacific with Aloha

2011-12-15T09:59:00.012-10:00

In December, the youth at Spalding received a very unique opportunity to contribute to a project called “Rainbow for Japan.” They were asked to write an Aloha letter to youth from Japan that were coming for a visit to the islands. These youth from Japan were directly impacted in the recent Tsunami that hit Japan and they were visiting the islands for a much deserved vacation. The Spalding members were asked to write a simple letter encouraging the Japanese youth to keep their head up and stay positive. Everyone got really into it and some letters were even written in their native tongue which made the cards even more impressive. The activity was a great way for the Spalding Club to get in the spirit of the holiday season by really reaching out to other youth to give them hope and support during difficult times.

Rei and Luna wrote their aloha cards in Japanese!

Eagles Wrestlers are Soaring to New Heights

2011-11-28T09:58:00.019-10:00

The BGCH Eagles wrestling team is having another successful season in its third year as a program at the Spalding Clubhouse. Led by Coach Brett Kumabe and assistant coaches Andrew Werner, Joseph Routon and Kamalei Hee, nearly 20 youth have come together to learn the sport of wrestling and compete against other teams across the island. The wrestlers competed in two home tournaments and two away tournaments, competing again three other local teams. Coach Brett shared his thoughts on the program: “Wrestling is the toughest sport because it challenges your mind and body in ways you never could have imagined until you spend time on the mat. Each day we grow stronger as a team and continue to grow stronger as wrestlers.”

The youth participating in the program, ranging from ages 7-14 also have enjoyed the learning experience. Henry said “I had a good time wrestling because the coaches encouraged me.” Lucian felt he did well because he learned to never give up, while Liza Marie “felt more confident” because it was her second year competing. Lambert learned that he needed to be aggressive, headstrong and he had to have faith in himself to be successful. John has experienced a transformation throughout the first half of the program. He shared: “When I first stepped on the mat, I was scared because I didn’t know who I was wrestling and I didn’t know how I would do. After my match, I felt like a wrestler.” Katelyn enjoyed the teamwork of the program: “We cheered each other on, we were positive, and I was proud of everyone doing their best!”

The wrestlers did a great job in their first four meets of the season during the fall semester. Check out the following members who took first place in at least one of the meets: Jazmyn L., Lizamarie A., Daeniel T., Lambert B., Cliff U., Justin Y., Johnathan D., Romio K., Noah D., and Cong N.

The second semester will focus more on teamwork and wrestlers will get a chance to compete against their peers for a collaborative effort to win intramural matches.

The Girls are Calling the Shots Around Here

2011-11-20T09:49:00.013-10:00

Kelia learned how to use the boom mic

In November, Girl Power started a media project with the help of Media Mentor Franz. They brainstormed ideas for the film they wanted to make and after some friendly debate, they settled on a film that focused on having girls being seen as equals to boys in different core areas such as math and science and sports. They all gave input into what kinds of scenes they wanted to film and then with the help of Mr. Franz they made a story board for each day of shooting.

The girls asked some of the boys to act in their film.

Some of the planned scenes were shot on the basketball court, in the media center and in the back parking lot. Also, before shooting started, the girls were given a tutorial on how to handle media equipment properly. Franz showed them basic camera functions like proper exposure, focusing and framing. Once shooting began, the girls each filmed their spots and had a great time being in front of the camera as well as behind the camera filming. Even the girls that were hesitant to film had a blast and the project turned out great. The film is in the final editing stages now and will be ready to share in 2012.

Love, Lemons and Aloha!

2011-11-14T09:46:00.050-10:00

Our awesome lemonade stand!

Throughout the months of October and November, the Spalding Clubhouse participated in a pilot program called Lemonade Alley. Created by business guru Steve Sue, Lemonade Alley was a kids business competition to highlight Hawaii’s local economy during the week of APEC. Spalding’s team “Uncle Charlie’s Lemonade” was the only group to from the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii chosen as finalists for the competition. The group of all fifth graders, Precious, George, Tina, Gabriel and Lina, worked hard with Spalding staff Brianne Villarosa to perfect their business plan and lemonade recipe, and to create props and decorations to use at Lemonade Alley. They also had to create a one-minute sales pitch that they had to present in front of the crowd on the day of the competition. Precious shared that through the process she “learned how to sell things and how to advertise.”


Hanging out with Famous Amos on the North Shore press tour!

Throughout the weeks of preparation, they had opportunities for special field trips, like the tour of the North Shore small businesses to meet all of the local farmers that were supporting the event. The kids got to pick fruit at Kualoa Ranch, sample treats from Kahuku farms and made a stop at PCC to learn about local culture and to accept donations of pineapples.

Having lots of fun with the Lemonade Alley mascot Mia!

George helped pick a ton of star fruit!

The day before the event the kids worked hard to hand-squeeze lemons, strawberries and limes for their special recipes. On the day of the competition, the kids were at the Club bright and early to head over to Iolani Baseball Field to set up their booth, make the finishing touches on their lemonade recipes and prepare to serve up lots of lemonade to customers! The youth worked all day long selling all of their twisted lemonade recipes—their favorite to sell was the mint strawberry lemonade. The customers thought it was a hit too! They confidently presented their sales pitch to the large crowd in attendance and proudly represented the Spalding Clubhouse (this was George’s favorite part!) Lina was really impressed with how Precious and Gabriel would walk through the crowd with samples of their lemonade to encourage customers to visit their booth. Tina learned how important it was to tell people about how good your product is and wants to explore other ways to advertise in the future, including using the internet more.


Precious was great at getting customers to come to our booth.

Presenting their sales pitch to the entire crowd!

George and Lina bringing their secret recipe to the judges for the taste test.

Program Leader Bri was really proud to know that all of the work was done was by the youth—she played only a small role in making their vision become a reality for the competition. Unit Director Natalie couldn’t believe that the first Monday back at the Club, the kids came running up to her asking if they could have a spot on the program calendar to start planning for next year! It showed that they truly enjoyed the opportunity to become entrepreneurs, and it didn’t matter if they won or lost the competition but that they learned something and were interested in improving themselves.

Tourney Fridays

2011-11-04T16:00:00.001-10:00

What do you do on a Friday at the Teen Center? You participate in Twisted Tourney! Twisted Tourneys are held every Friday in the Teen Center where the teens are encouraged to develop a fun and competitive nature and to improve their social skills. The tournament each week varies. Sometimes they will play a game of pool other times they will be playing card games or a game on the Xbox. The teens really enjoy this because it gives them an opportunity to prove their skills in a positive way.

"I love to try out something that I am not good at because I may get lucky and win the whole thing."
-BJ M.

We Got Game!

2011-11-02T19:00:00.000-10:00

What do Rubber Duckies, Team Us & Kanaka Maoli all have in common? They are all teams that compete in HOOP JAM every Wednesday. Hoop Jam is a very popular teen program that enables the youth to form their own teams of 3, come up with a team name & then compete together. The first team of 3 to get to ten wins gets their own box of pizza the following Friday during Movie Night at the Teen Center.

Having Hoop Jam as a program helps improve their teens teamwork and communication skills. It also helps keep the youth active. The program is one of the most exciting and anticipated programs in the Teen Center. The stakes really get raised when a team gets to challenge the staff which includes Mr. Jeric, Miss Hali & Miss Bri. The youth put all their effort into trying to beat the staff, sometimes they succeed sometimes they donʻt but no matter the outcome everyone on the court is having tons of fun.

"I participate in Hoop Jam because I want to stay active and win the pizza but most of all I just want to have fun with my friends!"
-BJ M.

"I play because I donʻt want to let my friends down. When I was on fire making 3-pointers was the most memorable times in Hoop Jam."
-Scott E.

Spalding Brings Home the Flag Football Championship!

2011-10-31T16:48:00.001-10:00

This Saturday the Spalding flag football teams fought hard out on the Leeward coast and our 10-12 year old team defeated Nanakuli and Kahikolu to become the BGCH champions! Although the 7-9 year olds had a hard time keeping up with the other teams, they were still excited to cheer on their older friends to victory. The Spalding staff and coaches were so proud of all of our players because they played with respect, integrity and good sportsmanship.

Here's what a few of our players had to say about the games:

"Although the game seemed to be rough at the beginning, we still managed to stick together and play hard on the field. As a team we play as one, run as one and represent Spalding as one. If we are able to work together and find a solution to the problem, we can win a game any time we play. The best part about the game was clearly having fun and staying focused on the game. We had ups and downs in the past but we made it to the best part. I would like to thank my coaches and supporters for helping us make it this far. Thank you everyone and hope to play with you again." -Eric T.

"My favorite part about flag football is that we won the championship and the last play I made a sack. I made a touch down when we challenged the team and the first game it was 33-6 we won and the championship score was 23-13 and we had good sportsmanship." -Kreole

"My favorite part was the end because I totaled up my touchdowns and I had 5!! Five touchdowns!! The worst part was when I was about to make an interception but a tall kid yanked my jersey and the ref never called it." -Anthony

"My favorite part of this game was when I was almost going to get an interception but then the receiver nearly ran me over. The most memorable part of this season was when I threw the ball against the Colts to Eric and he ran all the way in for the touchdown. Another memorable moment was when I handed the ball to Egan and he ran for 6 yards. I'm mostly just excited that we won the championship. Something I would change for next time is I wish the ref would look closer and call the right calls." -Simon

Great job to all of our members that were committed to the flag football program and who represented the Spalding Clubhouse well, and to the parents who supported all of our players. A big mahalo to our coaches Brett, Naomi, Charles and Daniel for all of their hard work and dedication that they put into our youth. And thank you to Mr. Jeric, our athletic director, for putting together such a great program.

Farmerʻs Market Here We Come!

2011-10-26T19:00:00.001-10:00

Darrius, Gabe & Kiana chose the best pineapple!

Lina & Anya were excited about the bananas.

Healthy Habits has been such an amazing program in the Club. After 3 full months of programming, the youth involved in the Healthy Habits initiative were treated to their first field trip to their local farmerʻs market. The youth were very excited to finally get to leave the club and they all jumped at the chance to go. They all got to walk around and explore what a farmerʻs market has to offer.

They saw different local produce that were grown fresh here on the island, different types of orchids, freshly made food featuring locally grown products, and a lot of fantastic samples from different booths.

"I liked that there were many choices of food at the Farmerʻs Market. It is where fresh produce is sold and local people are selling it."
-Darrius D.

"I learned that there is different kinds of bananas at the Farmerʻs Market and they sell a lot of healthy foods."
-Jay-Judy R.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

2011-10-19T19:00:00.002-10:00

...you make lemonade of course! The youth at the Spalding Clubhouse have been given an amazing opportunity to create their own version of lemonade in hopes of being a part of Lemonade Alley on November 12. For the past month, two hardworking groups haved worked to create a lemonade stand business plan which even lets them design a lemonade stand! They tried out a few recipes and learned what was a good combination (strawberry kiwi lemonade anyone?!) and what wasnʻt so good even though it was really inventive (so long chocolate lemonade!). The two groups, Uncle Charlieʻs Lemonade & the 3 Lil Lemons now have to sit and wait to see if they have made the finals and have a chance to win $1000. Good luck teams we are all waiting anxiously to see if you get to represent Spalding!

"The best part was when we got to make different lemonade recipes."
-George S.

"I learned that you have to use teamwork and you have to have fun in order to complete our goal."
-Tina V.

"If I were selected to go to the finals I would be so EXCITED!"
-Gabe L.

"I learned about advertising."
-Precious L.

Eat.Breathe.Sleep.Club.

2011-10-19T15:01:00.000-10:00

Every month the staff likes to reward the youth who really get involved in the club. Youth who come to the club 15 days of the month & participate in all 5 core areas (Education & Career Development, Arts, Sports, Health & Life Skills, Character Development) of the club get rewarded with a really cool shirt and 5 ClubBucks that can be spent at Charlieʻs Snack Shop. The first month we only had 2 youth that qualified. This month we had 4! Things are really looking up and it looks like the the youth are really spreading their wings and finding out what the Club has to offer. Congratulations Guys! Thank you for being GREAT!

August Winners:

Kelia Li & Elton Huynh

September Winners:

Kiana Ogawa, Jay Judy Renton, Jette Stietzel & Lina Le

Breakfast From The Garden!

2011-10-18T17:00:00.002-10:00

Thanks to HMSA we have an amazing new garden full of growing vegetables and fresh herbs. The youth were really excited to see the garden and get to walk around and learn all the different things they could utilize for Healthy Habits. One youth couldnʻt stop talking about was the chives. They kept talking about their parents making eggs with the chives in it. Since the week was already dedicated to breakfast, I thought it would be a great idea to use the garden and make some scrambled eggs with chives. The youth were very excited and couldnʻt wait to cook. Everyone took turns cracking the eggs, scrambling them, cutting the chives from the garden, and cooking the eggs. To balance the rest of the meal out, they also got orange juice and a fresh apple.

Jessica picks some fresh chives from the garden.

"Delicious! Working together is easy and helpful. It was fun picking the chives from the beautiful garden."

- Kiana O.

"It was healthy since we used all the food groups. The eggs with chives were so good and it tasted delicious with the orange juice and apple. The chives really made it taste better."

-Jess C.

Spalding Flag Football Heads to Nanakuli

2011-10-16T15:57:00.045-10:00

On Saturday the Spalding flag football team had a chance to finally compete against another Boys & Girls Club. The three Spalding teams combined into two age divisions, 7-9 year olds and 10-12 year olds to play against Nanakuli's football teams. Although it was sunny and hot out on the Leeward Coast, the kids were all energetic and excited to play. We had a great showing of parents as well, who came to support all the players and provided plenty of snacks and beverages.

The 7-9 year olds played first and it was a tough game! We only had six on our team but the Nanakuli team had enough for 3 strings--our boys were tired without any breaks, but they put up a good fight. Tyler did a great job of running in two touchdowns! Nanakuli took the win but the Spalding team had a fun time and knew what was most important--playing fairly and being good sports.

The second game was the 10-12 division and our boys were ready to play! As they created their own chant before the game, shouting "Spalding" all together, we knew that they had been waiting all along to play together as one team. It was a great game and all of the coaches were so proud of how positive and calm the boys were, even with a lot of competition against the Nanakuli team. Spalding worked really well together and they defeated Nanakuli!

Aria shared his experience: "My heart was pumping practicing on the sideline waiting for my time to play. Finally it was my turn and my teams on the field getting ready to start the game. Out there was hot but I had a great time because I made a touch down and almost a pick. So going back home we were cheering and happy and we brought home a win for Spalding!"

The teams are excited to return to Nanakuli in a few weeks to compete against more of the BGCH teams during the finals. Great job boys!

HMSA Gives the Spalding Club a Makeover!

2011-10-09T16:28:00.184-10:00

This past weekend HMSA spent their third and final day of the "Make a Difference" Makeover at the Spalding Clubhouse. Since September, HMSA has been volunteering their time to redesign the entire back parking lot area, including totally cleaning it out, updating the landscaping and painting murals on the back wall and entrance to the teen center. What started as a project that was going to only be a few hours on a single Saturday turned into three eight-hour long days. I still can't believe how dedicated and committed so many of the HMSA employees were. They really worked hard to see the project through to completion!

The first day was spent doing a complete clean-out of the area. They cleared out some of the old and broken equipment and took it to the garbage dump, they power washed the entire grounds and dug out the old landscaping. They began building the planter boxes for herbs and vegetables, and new benches too. They were even climbing the fences and cleaning off the overgrown vines! I was really impressed that even when it started pouring, they still worked through the rain and kept going. They had a goal in mind for each day and they were set on meeting it!

The second day was more fun! The entire crew worked really hard to paint the base of both of the murals and the benches. They chose a vivid yellow to really grab everyone's attention for the back side of the main building, and a deep blue-violet for the entrance into the teen center. They also started part of the decorating by sponge-painting clouds onto the blue arches over the teen center. On the landscaping side, the gravel was delivered to spread around the brand new planter boxes. Even though the project wasn't near completion, the changes were already so amazing that I could barely remember what the area used to look like.

By the morning of the third day, it was easy waking up at 6:30am to open the gates for the crew (yep, they were there bright and early!) because I was so excited to see the final product. In fact, I think the whole group of volunteers was buzzing with excitement to see it all come together. They got to work right away, painting the design on the mural, planting the palms, ti plants, herbs and vegetables, and creating the graffiti mural into the teen center.

Everyone worked really quickly and by lunch mostly everything was done except for a few final details on the murals! We even had a visit from a few media sources, and we landed some photos in the Star Advertiser and a spot on the 10:00 news on Hawaii News Network!

By the end of the day, I couldn't believe how amazing everything came together. The HMSA "Make a Difference" Makeover completely transformed what was once a forgotten area of our club into the best part of the entire building!

When the club opened to the kids the next week, they were so excited to see all of the decorations and changes! Here's what a few kids had to say when they looked around the back area:

"It is colorful and nicely painted. It represents what we do at the Boys & Girls Club and it's awesome!" ~Shayna

"I really like it! I like the drawings of the people. I love that it is bright and colorful and makes it look way cooler!" ~Tracy

"I like the bright colors on the walls and the clouds. It has a lot of texture! The garden is beautiful with all of it's healthy vegetables." ~Jessica

"I like the painting because it has a quality and it expresses the Boys & Girls Club. I also like the painting because there are people who care enough to take the time to make it. Every time I look at it, it brings a smile to my face." ~Jazmyn

"I like the paintings around the club because it used to be plain, but now it's bright and more attractive. It makes the building more fun. I can identify it more from the street. It looks stunning!" ~Christian

We'd like to give one more MAHALO to all of the volunteers at HMSA that made the project possible. We'd like to especially thank the following people: Moani Wright-Van Alst, Wendy Nakasone, Garry Ono, Richard Puetz, Lawrence Esperanza, Bill Tobin and Aloha Kim of HMSA; Lynette Lo Tom and Wally Zimmerman of Bright Light Marketing; Blaine Onishi, Thomas Witten, Ray Higa and Lindsey Yuen of PBR Hawaii & Associates, Inc.; our graffiti artists Jared Johnston and Scott Edwards; and Bob Clapper of Growing Things. We truly appreciate all of your support and dedication to help the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii - Spalding Clubhouse continuously strive to offer GREAT opportunities for our youth members!

To view photos from the entire project, please visit our Picasa album.

Artistry!

2011-10-07T19:00:00.003-10:00

Artistry is a new program that Aunty Kuʻu Lei has started this past month at the Club. She started it just in time for the holiday season. Each week Aunty Kuʻu Lei will help the youth use their creativity to create different projects based on each upcoming holiday. For Halloween they will be doing something special with pumpkins, Thanksgiving will be a time for some cookie decorating lessons, and Christmas will be seen through many different projects. First up was painting rocks that can be kept for themselves or can be used to give as Christmas presents. The youth has an amazing time and they loved getting their hands dirty and making something amazing out of a simple rock!

"My first rock wasnʻt so good but after some help, my second one was way better."

-Jodi T.

Mahalo Ross!

2011-10-07T12:00:00.004-10:00

Today Ross - Dress for Less celebrated the grand opening of its new store in Waikiki! Ross is a huge supporter of the Power Hour homework help program that we do at the club on a regular basis and to commemorate the special day, they donated $1,000 to the Power Hour program at the Spalding Clubhouse. This is in addition to a $6,600 grant that the Club received at the beginning of the school year to implement the program. At the Spalding Clubhouse over 180 members are enrolled in the Power Hour program, with an average daily attendance of 60 youth. Youth can participate in Power Hour in the Lakers Reading Room, the Learning Center, the Media Center and the Teen Center.

It was so much fun to be part of the store blessing and special festivities in the beautiful new store. The store is so bright, welcoming and clean, and will be a nice boost to the economy in Waikiki. Plenty of people were lined up around the block to be some of the first customers at the store!

Thanks for inviting us to the grand opening and a big mahalo to Ross for supporting the youth in our community!

Cathy Blankenship, Development Director of the BGCH and Natalie Moore, Unit Director of the Spalding Clubhouse stand proudly next to Ross Regional Director Shannon Wilson with our giant check!

Spalding is Blue-mazing!

2011-09-30T10:18:00.000-10:00

Harry & Robert stand proudly next to the newly painted Club logo.

Throughout the month of September, the Spalding Clubhouse has been slowly but surely transforming. If you haven't noticed yet, you must not have driven past it! Club Alumni Harry and Robert Morck wanted to give back to the their favorite place where they grew up years ago, and spent the entire month working diligently to paint it BLUE! Now the club is easy to spot, and a bright representation of how the kids feel when they're at the club. Simon, one of the members, enthusiastically dubbed it "blue-mazing!" because he thinks it looks so great! We're so thankful to the time and effort that Harry and Robert put in to help our club look its best. Wes Phillips of Safway, another alumni of the club from back in the 1970's generously donated all of the scaffolding needed for the painters to complete the task. It means so much to us at the club that alumni take an interest in what's happening at the club and make sure that we're able to serve our youth to the best of our ability. Mahalo Harry, Robert & Wes!

Now the club is easy to spot from all directions!

Will You Go To Prom With Me?

2011-09-28T19:00:00.003-10:00

Girl Power decided it was time to celebrate, get all dolled up and focus on building strong friendships. After much thinking about how to incorporate all of these things into one there was only one option left! We had to throw a Prom! Throwing a Prom will give the girls the chance to get dressed up and put their new makeup and hair skills to the test. It will also give them a chance to bond with each other and form positive friendships with one another. Finally, it will allow them to simply have fun which is what being part of the Club is all about. In preparation for Prom, the girls were treated to a screening of the movie Prom in the media center and this got them all really excited. For the girls who attended over half of the Girl Power programs got their hands on the very first Girl Power shirts. There was even a Princess that was crowned for the girl who didnʻt miss a single Girl Power program.

NO BOYS were allowed at all but somehow Mr. Jeric snuck in! Even though the boys said they didnʻt care about Prom they sure couldnʻt stop talking about it. I guess the boys will have to throw their own party one day...hint hint Passport To Manhood! The girls had a blast and it was GREAT to see all of them having such a good time. Best. Program. Ever.

"I liked the Prom because we go to dance and listen to music. Then we took a lot of pictures!"
-Jette S.

"I liked Prom because there was no boys. We donʻt need a boys to have fun."
-Ana V.

"I learned at Prom that you donʻt have to change who you are because you are fine just as you are. I also found out that you should always have fun...and i did!"
-Jess C.

To see even more of the fun, please visit our Girl Power Prom Album!

Be A Champion!

2011-09-28T19:00:00.000-10:00

September flew by in the Club mostly because we have been having so much fun! The gamesroom has been full of laughter and everyone is really getting "pro" at all the games in there. The four main game stations are the pool tables, the ping pong table, air hockey, and foosball. We thought it would be awesome if we could recognize some of the youth that have become extra talented in these activities by holding weekly tournaments. The winner gets a Clubbuck to spend at Charlieʻs Snack Shop plus they get their picture on the Champions Field. Here are the September winners.

Clein faced some hard competition but managed to make it to the finals. The final game was a close one but in the end Clein outlasted all the other competitors to win!

Clein Palik: Pool Champ

RJ took down some well known Pros of the foosball table to win. This was the first thing he ever won and was very excited and proud of himself!

RJ Requilium: Foosball Champ

Justin entered the tournament to pass time and ended up beating one of the best known Ping Pong players in the Club to win. He was very surprised but claimed he knew he was going to win all along.

Justin Corpuz: Ping Pong Champ

As the reigning BGCH Champ Kreole went into the tournament with a lot of pressure by recently defeating all the other clubhouses in August. But Kreole proved why he is the BGCH champ by winning an EPIC final game! I mean EPIC!!

Kreole Pawn-White: Air Hockey Champ

Congrats to all the September Champs! Will there be new champs next month or will the September Champs make it two in a row? Check in next month to find out!

Spalding Kicks Off the Flag Football Season

2011-09-26T17:29:00.001-10:00

Saturday was the official kickoff to the flag football season at the Charles C. Spalding Cluhbouse. The first game was a hard fought battle between the Falcons and the Jets. Each team played hard and there were some big plays made on both side of the ball.

The teams shook hands before the coin toss and to start the game off on a positive note.

Simon, the quarterback for the Falcons shared his thoughts on the game: "My favorite part was being able to play with my friends and have a chance to have fun. Win or lose, it's just a game. I was the quarterback for the Falcons and I got two touchdowns in 15 minutes to my wide out. And I was main linebacker and almost grabbed their QB's flag. I'm looking forward to playing against my neighbor and hopefully winning, but we have some new plays and lots to learn in practice."

Eric of the Falcons ran in a long score for the first touchdown of the season.

Anthony, from the Jets, had a great time too: "My favorite part of the game was when I made a touchdown. When I caught the ball I had a lot of excitement rush through my body. I was really proud of myself along with my teammates. My couch was proud--he said he taught me well! I learned that we needed to practice more and to always have fun. We also need to watch other teams play so we can learn from their mistakes. I'm looking forward to next game because I think we will play harder and have some new plays."

Anthony made a spectacular catch!

The coaches did a great job encouraging the kids and making sure that they stayed focused. The two teams were matched pretty well--at the half they were tied 8-8. After an interception though, the Falcons pulled ahead and won the game 22-14. Each team showed great sportsmanship and had a lot of fun.

Coach Daniel and Coach Brett did a great job of making sure everyone was having fun!

To check out all the photos from the season, visit our Picasa album. The next games will be Tuesday Sept 27th at 5:00pm and Saturday Oct 1st at 10:00am. Please come support our teams!

A special thank you goes out to Asami L. for providing snacks and refreshments after the game.

Is This Lip Gloss or Mascara?

2011-09-21T19:00:00.013-10:00

Girl Power has focused on a lot of different things this month. Frienships, growing up and maturity. But the girls have been hammering Miss Dani about when they were going to learn about how to do their makeup and how to style their hair. Finally, Miss Dani gave in and with the help of Miss Stephanie, gave the girls a few pointers about how to apply their makeup correctly without over doing it and some quick hair tips. The girls all got really excited and really into it. There were three stations that were set up, hair, makeup and even nails. Both Miss Dani and Miss Stephanie rotated through the stations trying to get to each girl. The tips they learned will help them get themselves dolled up for Girl Power Prom!
Jessica learned the most important lesson of the day, that makeup is there to only enhance your beauty and is better when it looks more natural. Good job girls!

Shooting Hoops at the Adidas-Chaminade Clinic

2011-09-18T17:32:00.030-10:00

The Chaminade Men's and Women's Basketball teams visited the Spalding Clubhouse on Saturday to teach nearly 100 youth fundamentals of the game and to inspire them to BE GREAT! Generously sponsored by Adidas, each participant received a tee shirt and basketball and quenched their thirst with Gatorade. Youth in grades 2 through 8 from all over the McCully area learned how to dribble, shoot, and pass thanks to the help of the encouraging and motivating players. As Jeric and I walked around snapping photos of the kids playing hard and having fun, it was uplifting to hear them cheering each other on and making new friends.

A big mahalo to the folks who helped us organize this event, including Chaminade Athletic Director Bill Villa, Men's Head Coach Eric Bovaird, and Briana Wells of KemperLesnik PR firm in Chicago.

To check out more photos from the event, visit our Picasa album.

Runner's High at the Windward 5K

2011-09-11T17:18:00.034-10:00

This morning Darren woke up before the sun to join Miss Natalie at the Windward 5K race to support the BGCH in Kailua. It was the first 5K Darren had ever participated in, so he was really excited. We started out with a really quick pace but then fell into a steady pace about halfway through. The whole time Darren kept wondering if he might win in his age division, but it was hard to tell because there were so many other runners. Darren completed the race in 34:44.8 and beat me by less than a second! I was so proud of how well he did and how he stayed committed to the entire race. He anxiously waited for the award ceremony and when they finally got to the Men's 12-14yrs age division, he was thrilled when they announced his name for second place!

After the race we celebrated by making a stop at the Pali Lookout since Darren had never seen it before. He was stunned by the view as he said "I never realized the island was this big!"

It was really incredible to share such a wonderful morning with him and it has motivated me to find other 5Ks that I can enter into with other youth to develop their love for running. If anyone is interested in sponsoring the entry fees for the races, please contact me at the club!

Spalding Tips Their Hats To Volcom!

2011-09-03T16:36:00.049-10:00

Mahalo Volcom!!

The Volcom Surf Team made a special visit to the Spalding Clubhouse on Friday to meet just a few of the kids that the $33,900 they donated to the organization will benefit. The youth had the chance to meet our favorite Volcom surfer, Coco Ho. Coco spent the first half of the year with the kids at the Aliamanu Outreach site, where she visited them at the club, went surfing with them in Kailua, and led a special girls' program. Now she's looking forward to doing one more learn-to-surf event with the youth from Spalding before the end of the year. In addition to spending time with Coco, the kids also got to meet other Volcom team surfers like Tai Vandyke, JD Irons, Kawai Lindo and Tom Dosland. Each of the youth were lucky enough to make their own custom Volcom hats and the surfers willingly autographed them for the kids as souvenirs.

We'd like to give a big thanks to Clint Moncata and Jason Shibata for making the visit possible and so much fun! Thanks to Coco for being such an awesome role model to the youth and for really reaching out to them to make an impact this year. BGCH is incredibly grateful for Volcom's generosity and support throughout the years and we look forward to hopefully continuing our partnership with them next year. Mahalo!

Until Next Time...xoxo Girl Power

2011-08-31T20:00:00.002-10:00

The first month of school has come and passed. The youth are having a blast all over the club. They can be found reading with Aunty Kuʻulei upstairs, filming with Mr. Franz, running around in the Gym with Mr. Jeric, playing a board game with Miss Dani in the Gamesroom or helping in Charlieʻs Snack Shop. With all of the staff perfectly positioned in their rooms and the youth actively engaged there are some unsung heroes that sometimes go unnoticed. The amazing volunteers that give up their time to come hang out at the club and lend a helping hand whenever a staff needs them is what helps make the club run smoothly. The youth really love getting to know all of the volunteers and are all really sad when they have to leave. The girls in Girl Power were especially sad to find out that Miss Cortney was leaving to head back to California to continue school. They asked if it would be okay to make her a card and present it to her at the next Girl Power meeting. The card came out GREAT and they couldnʻt wait to give it to her. Miss Cortney was very surprised and loved all the great messages that the Club members wrote. We even saw a tear or two. In the end, the girls told Miss Cortney why they would miss her so much and how much she has helped them the last few months. Girl Power thanks Miss Cortney for being an amazing volunteer and they canʻt wait for her to come back next year.

Here are the 10 reasons why Girl Power loved having Miss Cortney here for the summer:
1. "She is nice and really awesome." -Jess C.
2. "Sheʻs GREAT and helps all around the club." -Suzie P.
3. "She is so smart and helps me with my homework." -Lina L.
4. "She is the coolest!" -Kelia L.
5. "She is incredible...hulk!" -Jay R.
6. "Sheʻs so fantastic!"-Nicole
7. "She is so funny and always makes me laugh." -Pandora J.
8. "She gives the best hugs." -Jazmyn B.
9. "She is beast." -Haley C.
10. We love her because she loves us!

Good luck at school Miss Cortney and you said we canʻt say goodbye to you but what we can say is...until next time.

Triple Play Games Room Festival!

2011-08-29T16:14:00.007-10:00

This Saturday the Spalding Clubhouse hosted the Triple Play Games Room Festival, inviting youth from each of the other Oahu clubs to join the kids at Spalding in some friendly competition. Nearly 100 youth came together to play tournaments in five different events: air hockey, pool, ping pong, foosball and the card game Speed.

While they weren't competing in their events they were having fun playing pickup basketball in the gym or playing kickball out on the field. The event was part of the national BGCA Triple Play program that we run daily at our club. Triple Play incorporates three aspects of health: physical fitness, healthy eating and fostering adaptive relationships with peers through social recreation. The Games Room Festival was a single event that brought together each of these components!

Daniel and Dani served up delicious lunch to the kids!

The best part was just seeing all of the youth making new friends, cheering each other on and getting active together. After all of the games were over, the youth enjoyed a healthy lunch together as we recognized winners in each of the categories.

Vinh, Kreole and Ramon represented the Spalding Clubhouse by winning in their age divisions for pool and air hockey. Great job boys!

Take a Walk in the Country...

2011-08-22T09:00:00.002-10:00

On Saturday August 20th, the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii hosted its 15th Annual Walk in the Country fundraiser at the Lanikuhonua. This year was really special because we bid aloha to David Nakada after 33 years as Executive Director and welcomed our new Chief Professional Officer, Tim Motts. A handful of youth from the Spalding Clubhouse were privileged enough to join the event as volunteers. Clein helped out with the Slipper Exchange, Justice and Shane helped with the Photo Booth, Zack, Nikki and Kristian helped sell flowers, James and Clement passed out butterflies to VIP guests, and Gabby, Huni, Ramon, Jin and Justin helped Franz to film the event! The youth got to meet a lot of the Board members and supporters of the organization, and they served as a proud representation of what it means to be a "club kid." The event is a great way for the youth to really get a feel as to how big the organization is and to see that they're part of something amazing.

Planet of the Apes!

2011-08-18T20:00:00.000-10:00

The youth of the club got to enjoy a second field trip to the movies this time to go and see the new Planet of the Apes movie. They all had a blast and the bus was full to capacity. Looks like the youth learned that going on a field trip is fun since we almost doubled the amount of youth from the Smurfs movie. Thank you to Dole Regal Cinemas for letting all the Spalding youth enjoy the movie and for preparing all those snack packs!

"When I went to watch the movie, I liked that they fought. It was sad when the gorillas died when the helicopter crashed. I liked the movie anyways."
-Tom Le

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2011-08-17T19:00:00.000-10:00

In preparation for the big Planet of the Apes movie field trip the youth were asked a simple question...What would you do if the world was being taken over by monkeys and apes? The responses were priceless, even some of the staff got into the question and had some opinions of their own. Letʻs see what they all said.

"If the monkeys took over the island, I would just tell them where the Honolulu Zoo was."
-Scott E.

"I will fight back for my family, my friends, and the state."
-Mateson J.

"I would fight back by using strategy to live & survive. "
-Tyler L.

"If the world was being taken over by monkeys I will fight back. I will create a strong hold with my family and friends. We are superior than the monkeys."
-Ms. Hali

Girl Power Recycles!

2011-08-17T18:00:00.000-10:00

The girls in Girl Power have taken control of the overflowing recycling bins located throughout the club. They spent an hour sorting, cleaning, and bagging all the cans and bottles and then were treated to a well deserved snack. After all of their hard work the girls earned a total of $60 that will go to the Girl Power program and will be used strictly on the girls who helped sort out the cans. The girls also discussed the importance of recycling in and out of the club.

"Recycling is important at the Club because it keeps our environment clean. We earn 5 cents for every can and bottle we recycle."
-Jewel R.

"Recycling is good because it helps our planet and ourselves. Finally, we recycle because itʻs FUN!"
-Jazmyn B.

"Recycling is good because you get money and it keeps our club green."
-Suzie P.

"Recycling reduces the landfills."
-Sakura R.

"Girl Power likes to reduce, reuse, & recycle!"
-Kelia L.

"It was good to see the girls get their hands dirty and help out the club by recycling. They kept the complaining to a minimum, worked as a team, and had fun doing it. I am so proud of them!"
-Ms. Dani

Girls & Media

2011-08-16T18:00:00.001-10:00

This week in Girl Power we are focusing on how the media portrays young women. The girls got into groups and each group made a collage of their favorite female celebrities. The girls then shared what they liked about each celebrity they chose in their collage. This led into a conversation about things they would want to change about themselves because of the celebrities they look up to. In the end, the girls realized that even though they envy some of the girls in their collage and the way they look, they are just as impressive and amazing just the way they are. Here is some of what the girls felt about their favorite celebrities.

"I like Selena Gomez because I think she is pretty, her makeup is nice and I like how she sings. My mom says since I have long eyelashes, it looks like I already have eyeliner on so I donʻt need as much makeup as Selena wears."
-Suzie P.

"Taylor Swift dresses simply but she knows how to rock a plain tshirt and jeans and still look amazing."
-Sakura R.

"I love Rihanna because she always changes her hairstyles and still looks good no matter what. She is so pretty with makeup but sometimes you are beautiful just natural."
-Jazmyn B.

The Name Game

2011-08-15T18:00:00.000-10:00

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you could change your name? I know I have thought about what I would change my name to if I could. This was a topic of discussion today at the Club and here is what some of the members thought of their name.

"I would change my name to Max because it is a name I have wanted for awhile."
-Jonathan D.

"I would change my name to Ian if I had the chance to because that is what my dad wanted to name me."
-Christian G.

-I got my name after my dad saw an old man call some kid Dylan. So, I would change my name to something cool like Brian."
-Dylan C.

"

Healthy Eats!

2011-08-11T18:00:00.001-10:00

This school year at Spalding we started a brand new program called Triple Play! It teaches the Club members about the mind, body & soul of the Boys & Girls Club. In the "mind" portion called Healthy Habits, the youth learn about ways to lead a healthy lifestyle such as eating and cooking healthy. Last week the youth learned about the 5 food groups based on the new choose my plate diagram. This week the youth learned about the importance of portioning your food and eating the correct amounts of each food group. To demonstrate healthy living the youth got to prepare a healthy snack and at the same time shared what they have learned over the last 2 weeks.

"Portioning your food is the best way to eat. We get to make healthy food in Healthy Habits too!"
-Suzie P.

"Eating healthy is rewarding!"
-Jewel R.

"Healthy Habits teaches me how to eat better."
-Kiana O.

"Itʻs fun!"
-Dylan D.

"Healthy food tastes good you just have to eat the right stuff and the right amount."
-Kelia L.

Girl Power!

2011-08-11T18:00:00.000-10:00

Girl Power is a program only for the girls in the Club. In the program girls are empowered to make healthy life choices, positive decisions and learn what the world has to offer them. The program encourages girls to be themselves and to share their opinions in a judgement free zone. The girls have worked together to make their own contract that they all signed off on, designed their own Club shirt, learned about the importance of communication, attempted to make their own Girl Power song and will start a Pen Pal type relationship with Club members from the East Coast. They are all excited to have their own space where they can laugh and be silly together but also talk about things that are important to them. Whether the girls are discussing Justin Bieber, makeup or why girls are amazing and special, Girl Power is a place where they can do all this in a safe environment. Here is what a few of the Girl Power girls had to say...

"I am happy because Iʻm part of an awesome Girl Power club!" -Kiana O.

"Girl Power is all about girls doing what girls do."-Alicia B.

"I love Girl Power!!"-Suzie P.

"There is a saying, girls rule & boys drool...I think they drool because we are so pretty!"-Kelia L.

ʻOhana Means...

2011-08-08T18:00:00.002-10:00

The Disney movie, Lilo & Stich, was a movie about family life in Hawaii. In the movie Lilo once said, "ʻOhana means family, family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." When Lilo met Stich, they became the best of friends and Stich became part of the family and Lilo didnʻt want to lose him. So, we asked the youth in their family are they an only child and do they wish they had siblings or do you have siblings and wish you were an only child. Letʻs see what they have to say.

"Itʻs easier to have brothers because then I can ask them for help and they are always there for me and have my back."

-Felu F.

"The reality for me is having 3 sisters but sometimes I wish I were an only child because I would get more benefits than I do now. I wouldnʻt have to share things as much too."

-Tyler L.

"If you have a brother or sister you will not get bored when there is nothing to do and they can cheer you up when you are sad."

-Sakura R.

"I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters but i would love to be an only child. I wouldnʻt get so ANNOYED by my brothers and get SASS from my sisters. Plus, the house wouldnʻt be so noisy!"

-Clein P.

"I think its easier being an only child because there is nobody around to annoy you, be demanding of you or yelling at you. My sister is always complaining so it must be nice to be an only child!"
-Margaret L.

Teacher For A Day!

2011-08-08T17:00:00.000-10:00

The school year is in full swing and the youth are a little overwhelmed with homework. With the youth studying hard the staff had a burning question for them. If they were a teacher for a day, what would they want to teach and why. The youth were excited about this question and this is what some of them wished they could teach.

"I would teach an AWESOME class about anime culture! We would watch a couple episodes and have something like a book club except we talk about the episodes we just watched."
-Kayla K.

"I would teach Math because it is very useful in many jobs and would make up fun activities about math too."
-RJ

"If I could teach any subject it would be a technology class because I am good at using computers."
-Sakura R.

"If I could be a teacher, I would teach a computer class because I love using computers."
-Suzie P.

We Got SMURFed!

2011-08-05T20:00:00.003-10:00

Friday, August 5, 2011 is a day that will go down in Spalding history as one of the BLUEST days ever! Not blue because everyone was feeling down, but blue because mostly everyone was in...well in blue! We all got dressed up in our finest blue attire and decided to hop on a bus and head to Regal Cinemas to watch Smurfs. The field trip officially kicked off the school year and got the youth excited about being part of the Club. The movie was an instant hit and the youth even got rewarded more with free posters, temporary tattoos, blue lip gloss and bookmarks. Here is what a few of the youth thought about getting SMURFed!

"It was Smurf-tacular! It was the best!"
-Clein P.

"If I could be a Smurf I would be clumsy because he was the one who ended up saving everybody."
-Raeanne R.

"It was a load of fun watching the Smurfs!"
-Darrius D.

"We sang the song the Smurfs sang all through the movie on the bus ride home. I loved all the little blue Smurfs."
-Rei O.

"I think the Smurfs might have been the best movie I have ever seen!"
-Jazmyn B.

"The kids and chaperones had a Smurf-tastic time!"
-Ms. Cortney

"Smurf-alicious, Smurf-mazing, a Smurfinʻ good time!"
-Ms. Dani

Good Guys ALWAYS Win!

2011-08-04T17:10:00.000-10:00

After rave reviews from the youth about how AMAZING the new Captain America movie was, the staff thought this would be the best time to ask the youth to get creative and tell us what their super power would be if they had one. To make it even more fun, the staff got involved and shared their dream super powers themselves. Letʻs see what they all said...

"The superpower I would want is to teleport, fly and have super strength!"

-Brendan S.

"If I was a super hero the power I want is to teleport because if someone is in trouble I can get there immediately. I also want to be a good guy because they always win."

-Daniel L.

"I want to teleport because itʻs awesome and I can teleport people away from bad places like a fire."
-Mr. Jeric

"I really want to shape shift into a werewolf only during full moons. Being werewolf is cool because I can save people at night when they are in trouble."
-Lanea V.

"If I had a super power it would be invisibility because it sounds fun and you get one up on the bad guys since they canʻt see you!"
-Ms. Cortney

Shark Attack!

2011-08-02T17:00:00.000-10:00

Itʻs the first week of school and the Club members are a little short on homework as their teachers ease them back into their studies so Power Hour at the Club has been a little tricky. But as staff we all put our heads together and thought of some awesome blog topics to for the youth to complete during Power Hour in order for them to still get some Power Points. In honor of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, the youth were asked how the feel about sharks, if they have ever seen one in person and what they would do if one just happens to come near them while at the beach. Here is how a bunch of the youth answered this burning question!

"I like sharks a little because they can smell really far but I donʻt like them because they have over 100 teeth that is really sharp!"

-Kelia L.

"I think sharks are cool because they are tough and strong."

-Jonathan D.

"I found out that sharks bite people because they think people are seals."

-RJ

"To be honest I am scared of sharks but in pictures I think they are cute."

-Suzie P.

"I swam with 2 sharks at Sea Life Park before. At first I was scared, but then I got used to it."

-Anya V.

Kiewit Service Project!

2011-08-01T21:17:00.000-10:00

Our early morning crew before everyone got started!

This past Saturday the Spalding Clubhouse got a face lift thanks to the Kiewit Building Group. Almost 50 volunteers spent time at the club, some getting there as early as 6am, to help repaint our downstairs hallway and lobby, to fix some of our doors and to repair our termite-destroyed benches. The volunteers were such a positive group--all of them worked hard with big smiles on their faces, teaming up to get the projects done really quickly. In their bright yellow shirts, it was like a swarm of bees buzzing through the club with friendly chatter and laughter!

Even our littlest volunteers were working hard to beautify the club!

Have to give credit to the volunteers who worked in the hot sun to install the new benches!

Everyone worked so well together as a team!

By 5:00pm, our club looked brand new again. I couldn't believe how much brighter it looked with the freshly painted walls. And our doors opened nice and wide without getting stuck on the floor, while our benches were whole again! Even though it was a long day, it flew by because of all of the great company. We're so fortunate to have such involved community partners like Kiewit to help us provide our youth with an awesome facility!

This project couldn't have been made possible without the help of Corporate Board member Dee Oswald, Alliance Board member Erik Nakamura, and the seven interns who planned out most the details: Jaime Rivera, Matt Lui, May Liu, Chamille Esteban, Zachary Horiuchi, James Yokoyama and Tyler Tanabe. And thank you to all of the supporting volunteers who helped out throughout the day! The youth and staff at the Charles C. Spalding - Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii greatly appreciate all of your help.

To check out more photos from the event, visit our Picasa album!

What Did You Do This Summer?

2011-07-29T15:05:00.000-10:00

This past summer here at the Spalding Clubhouse was packed with field trips that enabled the youth to experience some of the the wonderful attractions we have here on the island and when we were not exploring the island we had tons of laughs back at the clubhouse . The youth learned about dolphins at Sea Life Park, helped each other learn how to skate at Ice Palace, and some youth conquered their fears while at Wet N Wild! Beach days were always a fun time whether the youth were laying out in the sun, building sand castles, or splashing in the water. Some of the best days were the ones spent here at the club when laughter was always heard echoing through the halls. The summer was brought to a close with exciting performances at Ohana Night. Youth showed off some of their skills and talents for all their family and friends and then reminisced about all the fun times as they watched over the slide show. Overall, the summer was one to remember for all the volunteers, the staff and especially the youth. Here is what some of their favorite things about summer was...

"My favorite part of summer was the staff!"

-Jazmyn B.

"I loved the field trips because we learned new things and saw sea animals. I met new people and made new friends. This summer was excellent!"

-Shayna K.

"I like the beach because I can swim and itʻs really fun."

-Emma M.

"I feel like I have learned just as much from the members as they have learned from me."

-Greg B. Summer Volunteer from Michigan

"I really enjoyed this summer because I got to work with younger youth who were really energetic, kind, and accepting of me as a new volunteer. I hope to come back!"

-Max T. Summer Volunteer from Punahou