The Richardson Boys & Girls Club Advisory Council recently joined the Richardson Chamber of Commerce.  Richardson Mayor Laura Gibbs Maczka joined Club supporters and staff for an official ribbon cutting ceremony.  Pictured from left to right:  Wanda Nimer, VP Programs & Operations for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas; Ken Bell, Richardson Boys & Girls Club Advisory Council Chair; Charles English, President & CEO for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas; Richardson Mayor, Laura Gibbs Maczka; Bob Nelson, Richardson Boys & Girls Club Advisory Council Member; Monalisa Amidar, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson Boys & Girls Club Advisory Council Member; Paul Voelker, Richardson City Council Member; and George Human, Richardson Boys & Girls Club Advisory Council Member.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas is proud to be the recipient of the Leadership Dallas Class of 2013 Project!  Leadership Dallas is a leadership development program aimed at providing the region with an ongoing source of diverse leaders who are prepared and committed to serve as catalysts and sustainers of positive change for the quality of life in the local community.

The class of 2013 includes more than 50 leaders committed to addressing and improving social and community issues. As part of the ten-month educational program, each class member was required to submit a project idea (in conjunction with a local nonprofit) that the class would work on during our year long program. The class of 2013 chose to create a reading advancement center for the Oak Cliff Boys & Girls Club and raised more than $120,000 in cash and in kind donations in support of the center.

The Leadership Dallas Reading Advancement Center presented by Mary Kay is a state-of-the-art facility and includes: 

• A computer evaluated reading assessment to determine current reading level and compare it to the actual reading level the student should be at
• A teacher to help students with the use of computers, touch screen devices and to facilitate volunteers in the reading center
• Monitoring and tracking software to track improvement of each students performance vs. the  goal of getting to their appropriate reading level or beyond
• The Center is a place for kids to learn to read and to get up to their appropriate level of reading; it really serves as a friendly, comfortable environment where parents and volunteers read to kids
• The Center aligns with DISD and the reading objectives of its 20/20 program, where every student in DISD is reading at their grade level

"As part of the Dallas Regional Chamber's Leadership Dallas program, the class of 2013 selected to establish a Reading Advancement Center at the Oak Cliff Boys & Girls Club. We chose this project and this specific location in Oak Cliff because the research shows that if a student can't read by the 3rd grade, then they are more likely to drop out, cause trouble in school and lack the skills necessary to be a productive citizen in our community. In my view, to find a way to engage the students and provide them with a foundation for reading skills, can ultimately change the direction of their life. Leadership Dallas is committed to making an impact in our community and we are so pleased to have opened this Center to help local students set the foundation for future success. As a board member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas, I am so proud that my classmates and I were able to accomplish this project. It truly was a tremendous team effort." 

- Vickie Yakunin, BGCD Board Member | Leadership Dallas Class of 2013 Participant | Community Investment Director, Time Warner Cable

Leadership Dallas Class of 2013

Jamil Alibhai | John Ansbach | Sandy Beach Lin | Thad Behrens | Vanessa Benavides

Mike Birrer | Nicole Blythe | Kyle Cardwell | Mary Cochran | Todd Cornelius | Carol Donovan

Stephanie Fox | Ashley Givens | Forrest Gregg | Ashley Givens | Mike Goldman | Jamie Griffin

Jason Hammons | Teri Harper | Ken Hirsch | Sara Hollan | Marissa Horne | Kirk Johnson

Laura Johnson | Scotty Landry | Andy Leatherman | Sara Madsen Miller | Alissa  Martine

Jay McAuley | Casey Miller | Jerry Miller | Eleanor Millwood | Matthew Neyland | Rick Ortiz

Jeffrey Parkhill | Hattie Peterson | Ana Rodriguez | Benaye Rogers | Jennifer Ryan

Byron Sanders | Travis Sartain | Troy Schiermeyer | Peter Sefzik | Scott Siemer

 Craig Simon | Sanderia Smith | Andrew (Drew) Spaniol | Edward Spooner | Anita Tarar

Brian Vanderwoude | Nancy Wolff | James Wright | Vickie Yakunin

Reading Advancement Center Donors

$15,000 - $30,000

General Datatech, L.P. * | Mary Kay Inc.

$5,000 - $7,500

Anonymous | Atmos Energy | Plano Office Supply * | Tripp & Sadie Schiermeyer

$3,000 - $4,999

Fabulous Floors * | Half Price Books * | Morley-Moss Incorporated * 

Time Warner Cable * | Voyager Learning *

$2,500 - $2,999

Allie Beth Allman & Associates | Bank of Texas | Citibank

Comerica Bank | GMi * | Haynes and Boone, LLP | IBM Corporation | PwC

$1,000 - $1,999

Jackson Walker L.L.P. | James & Margaret Wright | Jennifer & Jay McAuley

Julia & Ken Hirsch | Methodist Health System | Munck Wilson Mandala, LLP

Prudential Financial, Inc. | Sam's Club #8299

Corgan Associates | Tenet Healthcare Corporation

 $500 - $999

American Heart Association, Greater Dallas Division | Bridget & Michael Goldman

Bryan Cave LLP and Drew Spaniol | Carol Crabtree Donovan, PC | Carrington Coleman LLP

Chris & Mary Cochran | Jason & Angela Hammons | Jerry & Tina Miller 

Leadership Dallas Class of 2013 Raffle | MHBT/ Travis L. Sartain | Mike Birrer

Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers | Shelli and Scott Siemer | Simon, Ray & Winikka LLP

Texas Health Resources | The Jeff and Karen Parkhill Charitable Fund

The Lin Family | Todd & Elizabeth Cornelius | Winstead PC

* In kind donors

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas have launched a special effort this summer to help students retain their classroom learning.

Project Learn, a summer BGCD Club program aimed at complementing the academic school year curricula in Dallas area schools, is focused on “learning loss prevention.” The program provides fun, high-yield learning activities to Dallas area youth who need it most.

“All students experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer,” said Ron Fairchild, Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Summer Learning.

“On average, students lose approximately 2.6 months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills during the summer months,” he said. “Low-income youth experience greater summer learning losses than their higher income peers.”

Research shows that teachers typically spend between 4 to 6 weeks re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas (BGCD) seeks to help children—particularly those from low-income homes—to become productive, caring and responsible citizens.

The Project Learn programs include Career Launch, Money Matters and Goals for Graduation. For information on all of BGCD’s programs, visit www.BGCDallas.org or call (214) 821-2950.