Rotary Club president Ford Thigpen welcomed guests from the Paulding Boys and Girls Club. Ford introduced Yolanda Newell, Chair of the Paulding Boys and Girls Club. Ms. Newell thanked the members for the opportunity to come back and speak again to the Rotary Club. She recounted that the Paulding Boys and Girls Club was founded 1995 and that the Paulding Rotary Club was one of the founding charter members. Ms. Newell thank the club members again for their continued support and reminded them that all donations stay here within the county. Ms. Newell introduced the new Paulding Boys and Girls Club Director, Raiko Jones.
A very excited Ms. Jones took the podium to give an update for the Paulding Boys and Girls Club. Ms. Jones was very excited about their current progress working with the youth after school. The Boys and Girls Club goals are to inspire and empower youth to reach their full potential. She was quick to dispel the idea that the Boys and Girls Club was a place for children to stagnate after school. She shared their plans to educate, expose, and expand these young children with the afterschool programs that are currently available. These educational programs include College-Bound, Money Matters, computer coding, and Book-of-the-Month club. Programs designed to expose include a variety of sports, dance, cooking, and gardening. The expansion phase focuses on concepts of learning that emphasize growth. Expansion programs include Passport to Manhood and Beauty and Brains which are designed to help these children achieve their best selves. Ms. Jones was also very excited about the summer programs to come.
In closing, Ms. Jones outlined several needs that the Paulding Boys and Girls Club has, including transportation and volunteer needs. The Boys and Girls Club provides pickups from Dallas Elementary, Herschel Jones middle school, Allgood Elementary, and Paulding County High. The Boys and Girls Club does charge a nominal fee for parents, however, the main goal is to help and encourage children to succeed through development, and as such financial donations are always needed. Ms. Jones and Ms. Newell took some questions from the Rotary Club members and thanked them once again for the opportunity to share what's going on at the Paulding Boys and Girls Club.
The Paulding County Boys and Girls Club is located at 335A Academy Dr., Dallas, GA 30132. General hours are from 1 PM until 8 PM and their phone number is 678-363-8570 for more information visit their website https://www.bgcma.org/club/paulding/