Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club and Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club Join Forces for Great Futures Campaign Launch

On July 31, 2014, two of Nassau County’s, premier Boys & Girls Clubs - Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club and Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club of Locust Valley – will hold a March and Pep Rally to support the launch of Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Great Futures Campaign, a collective, nationwide Club effort to bring awareness of the 3:00 pm hour when so many children have no place to go during the afterschool hours. 

 On the afternoon of the 31st, hundreds of children from Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club and Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club will march to a central point located between the two Clubs - the Glen Cove Shopping Center, the West parking lot of the Stop and Shop located at 177 Forest Avenue in Glen Cove – where a Pep Rally, hosted by the executive directors of both Clubs will be held.  Club kids, staff, parents, volunteers, supporters and elected officals will be present.  The event is the local effort of the wider campaign which includes coverage on NBC’s Today Show, a press conference at the New York Times and organized Flash Mobs taking place in Manhattan throughout the day.  In addition, social media will be abuzz at 3:00 pm when the web will hear the ringing of school bells.  Celebrities and Club Alum Jennifer Lopez and Denzel Washington will be tweeting live during the digital disruption.

Melissa Rhodes, Executive Director of Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club and Ramon Reyes, Executive Director of Grenville Bake Boys & Girls Club, also both products of the Boys & Girls Clubs in their hometown communities, are veritable examples of the success of the programs and services provided. Both directors are passionate about Boys & Girls Clubs and the governance, guidance and support they impart is instrumental in the accomplishments and achievements of Club members.

“We are very excited about hosting the March and Pep Rally with Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club, and having both our Clubs and Club kids present and involved in this event that represents how our movement has positively changed the lives of so many of our nation’s children.  As a leading advocate for youth, we want to ensure every child has access to a safe place after school and during the summer where they can build the knowledge, skills and behaviors to put them on the right path.  Through nationwide effort, we can reach more kids in need and grow participation in our life-changing, outcome-driven, afterschool programs to transform the future of our kids, community and country,” said Melissa Rhodes. 

“Our country’s state of poor academic performances, obesity, drug use and youth related violence are cause for alarm.  In Nassau County alone we have more than 200,000 kids in the public school system and many of them do not have a place to go during the afterschool hours.  These kids do not have access to Boys & Girls Clubs to go to after school, where they receive life enriching programs focused on education, character and leadership development and health and fitness.  We are positively impacting our neighborhood’s children and by doing so, we are positively impacting our respective communities,” said Ramon Reyes.

For more than 100 years Boys & Girls Clubs of America has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens.   An independent survey of alumni, conducted by Louis Harris & Associates, verifies that Boys & Girls Clubs widely benefit young people through effective programs that foster self-confidence, a sense of belonging and hope for the future. 

The Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club and Grenville Bake Boys & Girls Club March and Pep Rally symbolizes the relevance of the two Clubs in the Glen Cove –Locust Valley vicinity.  To find out more about the March and Pep Rally, contact Melissa Rhodes at mrhodes@glencovebgc.org or Ray Reyes at rreyes@gbbgc.org.