Alexandria-Olympic Boys & Girls Club named first ‘Promise Place’ in Northern Virginia by America’s Promise Alliance
Designation Commemorated by Installment of New Youth Garden as part of President Obama’s United We Serve Initiative
8/21/2009
The Alexandria-Olympic Boys & Girls Club (the Club) has been designated a Promise Place by America’s Promise Alliance (the Alliance). A Promise Place is any school, community center, place of worship, business, or organization that provides youth with the Alliance’s Five Promises – caring adults; safe places; a healthy start; an effective education; and opportunities to help others – under one roof.
To commemorate the event, Alliance Chair Alma Powell, Club officials and Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille joined with children and youth from the Club and volunteers from the U.S. Department of State and Alliance staff to construct a new garden on site at the Club. This garden project is part of the Alliance’s support of President Obama’s summer service initiative, United We Serve and will help provide an educational and healthy foods experience for the hundreds of young people served by the Club. The youth on-site helped construct the garden which includes everything from fruits and vegetables to herbs and flowers.
Established in 1936, the Alexandria-Olympic Boys & Girls Club is one of the oldest clubs in greater Washington, serving several hundred young people each year in Alexandria and neighboring communities. In addition to being a safe place for the city’s young people to be during non-school hours, the Club provides more than a dozen educational and other programs. This includes: “Power Hour” homework sessions and tutoring; “Guitars not Guns,” where young people learn to play the guitar and read music; and “SMART Moves,” a weekly program that teaches young people about the dangers of drug, alcohol and tobacco use. The Club also provides young people an opportunity to appreciate nature by learning gardening skills through its program “First Bloom,” and teaches them financial responsibility and professional etiquette with its “Little Giants” program.
“It’s an honor for the Alexandria-Olympic Club to be named the first Promise Place in Northern Virginia,” said Jim Almond, area director, Alexandria-Fairfax County Region, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. “For more than 70 years we’ve proudly served the children and youth of this community and as we prepare to unveil a newly renovated club this fall, this garden will be symbol of a new era of growth and hope for our young people.”
As a Promise Place, the Club has earned the distinction of becoming a local Alliance Partner. In addition to receiving a certificate of achievement and a decal identifying it as a Promise Place, the Club will join a network of dozens of other Promise Places both locally and nationwide to share and receive information on how best to provide more Promises to local youth.
“If we are going to truly change outcomes for our young people then we have got to start approaching their development in a holistic sense. This success model is embodied in Promise Places like the Alexandria-Olympic Boys & Girls Club,” said Marguerite W. Kondracke, president and CEO, America’s Promise Alliance. “By offering young people all of the services they need—under one roof—we are exponentially increasing the chances that they’ll receive the support they need, and succeed.”
The “United We Serve” initiative began on June 22, 2009 and will culminate on September 11, 2009 as a national day of service and remembrance. The initiative is being led by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that improves lives and strengthens communities though volunteering and service. More information about “United We Serve” can be found at: www.Serve.gov.