Boys & Girls Club establishes Ramona Outreach Committee
By Karen Brainard
The Ramona branch of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater San Diego will be holding a meeting on May 24 for those who want to be involved in efforts to create more public awareness of the club and raise funds to support it.
The club has developed the Ramona Outreach Committee and held a meeting in April that drew several businesspeople who are active in the community and interested in providing more opportunities for children.
Robyn Andrews, annual campaign director for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater San Diego, said she is launching the committee “to help us get resources for the kids and families here in Ramona” and to “promote public awareness of who we are.”
Another objective of the committee is to communicate the accomplishments, goals and needs of the club in Ramona.
Andrews said she would like to see more kids utilize the club, which has served Ramona since 1990.
Simone McCune, site supervisor of the Ramona branch in Collier Park, said some people perceive the club as daycare when it offers so much more. Activities focus on five core areas: character and leadership development; education and career development; health and life skills; sports, fitness and recreation; and the arts.
McCune said they focus on healthy eating habits and offer homework and education time. Recreation includes soccer and basketball leagues and non-competitive sports.
According to Andrews, over the past few years, local resources and funding for the club has dwindled. Funding is needed for activity materials, food for events, and to keep fees as low as possible for the families who participate.
Membership in the boys and girls club after-school program is $60 per child per year. Summer day camps with more specialized programs are $99 per child per week. Scholarships are offered.
The club is looking for members of the community to serve on the outreach committee, which will hold meetings approximately every six weeks at the club. Committee members will be asked to participate in a facility tour, presentation to a community group or as a volunteer for a fundraising event.
Members will also be asked to recruit a minimum of two prospects to attend a facility tour and to recruit a minimum of one new member each year to serve on a committee.
Those attending the first meeting suggested promoting the Ramona Boys and Girls Club at events like the Farmers’ Market, health and safety fair, and rodeo and Fourth of July parades.
“The first year would be kind of a public awareness blast,” said Ramona Chamber of Commerce President Jason DeLeo.
Maureen Sinkiewicz, Union Bank branch manager, volunteered to chair the outreach committee.
The Ramona Outreach Committee will meet from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, at the Boys and Girls Club, 622 E St.
Anyone interested in being involved may contact Andrews at 858-866-0591, extension 208, or randrews@sdyouth.org.