CENTER — This spring Center Boys and Girls Club director Lawrence Trujillo began a club program to honor members each month who show leadership skills or just go out of their way to help out others at the club.
September’s member of the month is Luis Gonzalez, 11, a fourth grader at Haskin Elementary School. Trujillo commended Luis, commenting: “He knows how to follow the rules and shows great leadership skills.”
Luis says he loves his time at the Boys and Girls Club because he gets to participate in “fun activities” and play games with other kids at the club. “I get to lead — I help others with their homework and [with activities] in the reading club.”
If he wasn’t at the club, Luis said, he would probably be at home riding his bike or watching TV. “This is better for me,” he said with a smile.
Some of the rules Luis helps others remember are no pushing, be polite, clean up after yourself, ask permission and no talking back. Luis said his favorite thing at the club is doing homework and art club.
And with that he was off to help organize a bike ride after school.
Background
The Boys and Girls Club in Center offers those attending Center Schools just across the street a place to “hang out” and engage in after-school activities until parents or guardians return home from work.
The Center club opened last year. Local Masons donated the building for the club, the old Masonic Hall located just across the street from Center Schools
The club was founded in 1906 and currently operates 4,000 chartered clubs serving four million children. The Alamosa Boys and Girls Club has over 90 members.
Boys and Girls Clubs offer a safe, positive, fun environment with educational things for kids to do, club literature states. A well-trained staff supervises homework help and extracurricular activities.
Studies show members who come to the clubs two or more days a week are more likely to graduate from high school, and children who attend are less likely to become involved in petty crimes.