Celebrating what makes the Boys and Girls Club special

Last Friday was Boys and Girls Club Day across Canada. The Boys and Girls Club of Whitecourt & District celebrated with lots of fun activities. Program Manager Samantha Evarts said the day was about disconnecting and reconnecting together. “It’s about coming together as a club and getting back to what the club is about, connecting and doing activities together.”

Kids painted birdhouses as teams by talking and planning the project as a pair. “The kids are talking together and working as a team and coming up with ideas for what they want to do. We have some physical activity happening with some bowling. There’s teamwork happening there along with coaching,” said Evarts.

“We also have some art happening outside with chalk. We just got flower boxes too, and the kids are excited about those.” Evarts has been working at the Boys and Girls Club of Whitecourt & District since 2018 and said she loves getting to spend time with the kids and hear their stories. “I like hearing all the funny things they have to say and seeing how they solve problems. It inspires me to take a step back from my life, look at things differently, and find humour in a situation sometimes. I tell people all the time that this is the best job.”

As she looked around at the kids playing together, Evarts called the club inclusive and said it offers different things. “We offer fun and games, of course, but we also play educational games with a purpose. We also do homework help and do tons of programming throughout the year, where we do extra reading help and math help. We offer different learning opportunities, lots of fun and recreational activities.”

She said that getting to celebrate all the awesome things at the club is a fun way to share the news with the community. “Over the summer, we will take them on field trips every Thursday. We will be going to Jurassic Forest in Gibbons, Alberta, this year.” She said that the programming that happens at the club is moulded in large part with help from the kids. “When I’m sitting down to do a program plan, I always talk to a few kids hanging out at the club. I’ll ask them what they want to see at the club and what their interests are.”

Felicity Wurban, 9, said she likes getting to make new friends. “There are lots of different people you can be friends with, and it’s nice to have friends at a different place other than your house or your school.” Her table-mate Dani Dekker, 9, agreed. She said that the staff are very nice and called them “kind.”

Kyria Baranowski, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Whitecourt & District, said that every club across the country is unique in its own way, making a celebration day that much more special. “It’s a chance for clubs across the country to give their communities an idea of what they do. Some provide housing and food bank services, and some are just like us here in Whitecourt and just provide child care. It’s a chance to show what we do and let people know how we have supported youth and children’s mental health through the pandemic.”

Baranowski said that offering programming during the pandemic was a big help in fostering positive mental health for children and said she is proud to have provided a safe place during such a hard time. Looking forward, Baranowski noted that they are gearing up for summer programming. “We will be open from July 4 to August 31, five days a week except for stat holidays from 7 am to 6 pm and take in kids from four and a half to eleven years of age.”

Baranowski said she loves seeing the kids grow and build their personalities. “We get to watch them discover who they are and decide what makes them click in life and find those passions. Whether it’s arts, crafts, physical activity, or science experiments, we get to help these kids find themselves, and I am very honoured to be a part of that.”

Located downtown, a few steps over from Beaver Creek General Store, club staff take advantage of Central School being just up the street. “We utilize the playground at Central School every day through the summer. An hour to two hours of physical activity every day through the summer is what we strive for, for the kids,” she explained. “Being within walking distance of places like Rotary Park and the fire hall is amazing. Having those opportunities to take our kids offsite to different places in our community means so much. We really feel it has enhanced our programming to be down here.”

To learn more about the non-profit and discover all the fun things they offer youth through the summer, and the rest of the year, visit https://whitecourt.bgccan.com. “We run off of donations, grant writing and fundraising, and we are so thankful for the community’s support to keep our doors open, especially through the pandemic. We had $35,000 in donations come in for the 2021 year and so many in-kind donations that you cannot put a dollar value on. We are so grateful to every business that has supported us and continues to support us.”