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Helping more than 120 children ages 6-12 every day, Boys and Girls Clubs of Northwest Colorado was named the first JustServe Award Winner for Northwest Colorado.
Boys and Girls Clubs have one goal: to enable all young people, especially those who need the nonprofit most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens.
The award presentation took place in Craig on Friday with Craig Mayor Ryan Hess.
“The club is a true community gem and has served the community for nearly 17 years,” said Kelly Landers, director of development for Boys and Girls Clubs of Northwest Colorado. “I can’t think of a more deserving organization for the JustServe Awards because that’s what they do every day – serving the children of the Craig community.”
After school, children will start arriving at the club. When they get off the bus, they are immediately greeted with a big smile by club manager Tanya Ferguson.
Once everyone is checked in, each child is served a plate of food, accompanied by another big smile. For some children, this may be a snack. For others, it may be the only meal they will have that night. The food is healthy, hot and fragrant with love from the club staff.
After dinner, the club organizes a plethora of activities, all organized by Ferguson and Erin Steger.
Ferguson and Steger are known for going out of their way to plan fun and educational activities every night. As a result, all 120 children can participate in a variety of unique learning experiences, such as Campfire Kids, where they learn about the outdoors, or Cowboy Ethics, where they learn to be good citizens.
Other Boys and Girls Club programs include gymnastics games, which everyone is encouraged to participate in; STEAM programs focusing on science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics; homework help with staff mentors; and Kelso’s Choices, where they learn to deal with bullying.
According to the club, these programs have been proven to have a profound impact on club members and many club graduates cite these programs as contributing directly to their success as adults.
Ferguson and Steger also supervise adult and junior staff of up to 20 people each day. The junior staff is made up of high school students, who learn valuable life skills while helping the younger ones with homework and learning how to resolve interpersonal conflict.
For many junior employees, this is their first job, and working at the Boys and Girls Club teaches them how to be good employees.
“The staff and volunteers of the Craig Boys and Girls Club exemplify the ideals of JustServe, to help people help each other,” said Holly Weik, JustServe Coordinator for Northwest Colorado.
“We are thrilled to recognize the incredible work this organization does in investing time in our children to make them successful, and hope it inspires others to serve in their communities where needed,” he said. she continued.
JustServe connects faith-based, non-profit, community and government organizations in need of volunteers with volunteers willing to help. Go to JustServe.org for links to community service opportunities.
Additionally, JustServe.org has also scheduled a community service project for the club at 10 a.m. Saturday.
For the service project, all members of the community are invited to help and work will include painting, garden preparation, cleaning and fencing construction. JustServe is also looking for donations for some paint materials.
Register at JustServe.org and search for projects at Craig, or via the link at bit.ly/3N7WrnP. To learn more about Boys and Girls Clubs in Northwest Colorado, visit BGCNWC.org.
