Triana Boys and Girls' Club celebrates Christmas
Thanks to collaboration and support from four local groups, members of the Triana Boys and Girls' Club enjoyed a special Christmas celebration Dec. 20.
They feasted on party food and took home gift cards and toys.
Lewis is the Triana Unit Director.
The huge toy selection included electronic keyboards, bicycles, radio-controlled cars and Nerf guns.
"The Boeing Black Employee Association at the Boeing Company gave gifts worth approximately $2,000 to our teen members," Lewis said.
"The Rotary Club of Madison provided $800 worth of Wal-Mart gift cards and donated cookies and hot chocolate for the party. Fed-Express Home Delivery gave $150 in gift cards."
Lewis said the impact of donations such as these cannot be measured.
"For these four groups to step up and say 'I'm going to make a difference in the lives of these kids' is a Godsend. My club operates on a yearly budget and that budget only allots for so much. People like these are the key and I thank them whole heartedly."
"Triana Boys and Girls Club is exactly the type of organization that Rotary was designed to support," President Elect Elizabeth Houssain said. "The club gives SO much educational and social support to local children who may need it."
In addition to the Wal-Mart gift cards, the Rotary Club of Madison recently donated educational software to the club. Approximately one year ago, they sponsored a vocational counseling fair for Triana club members.
Students were encouraged to examine and discuss career opportunities with community business people.
Lewis has been director of the Triana Boys and Girls Club since May of this year and has worked with the Boys and Girls Clubs for almost four years. He has coached basketball for about 15 years, formerly as assistant basketball coach at Johnson High School and coach one year at Jacksonville State University.
The Triana Club has about 72 members from Triana, Madison and Huntsville.
Two different programs are run during the school year, the "after-school" and the "summer" programs.
"In our summer program, we will have between 50 and 60 kids each day. We average around 22 kids each day in our after school program," Lewis said.
When school is in session, club hours are 2:30 to 7 p.m. daily.
"My daily overall goal is to make sure the club is safe and fun," Lewis said.
"It's a good day for me when the kids don't want to leave when it's time to close or their parents arrive."
For more information on Boys and Girls Clubs of America, call 534-6060 or 461-7598 or visit the Web site www.bgca.org.
