It’s a busy day at the club and I can’t wait to get my day started! I have already finished my homework in the Club’s education center and the staff is rounding up the Clubhouse Academy kids for the three-thirty bus. I am excited to get onto the bus and into my classes at the Clubhouse Academy. I have already changed into my dance attire and I have my gymnastics and Tae-Kwon-Dao equipment in my backpack. My brother will not be going with me to the Clubhouse today because he plays on the Club’s RBI Base-ball team and they have a very important game in Garden Grove. The Angels RBI program provides equipment and trainings to our Club so that kids from our clubs have a chance to play baseball. We wouldn’t be able to take the Clubhouse’s classes and my brother would not be able to play baseball without the Club’s sponsorship programs and the RBI program.

The big white Clubhouse Academy bus is here! It’s the best bus at the club, the limo of the club’s buses, the one with the really nice seats and big windows. The bus driver gets out and stands at the door as we are walked to the bus by our staff. We are checked in and loaded up, ready to make our trip to the Clubhouse. I sit with my friends from the Huntington Beach club who have already been picked up by the bus. Hunter and the other boys are dressed in their karate uniforms, Ashley and Sidney are in their gymnastics gear, but Jemma, Mackenzie, and I are ready for dance! It’s only a short trip from my club to the Clubhouse Academy and we pull up to the front of

the Clubhouse. We are all excited to get into the Academy as the bus driver reminds us not to run, push, or shove as we head towards the Clubhouse. We are greeted by the office staff once we hit the front door. We check in, get our hands stamped, and scurry to our classes as fast as we can. Hunter and the boys head into Karate with Ms. Tanya, Ashley and Sidney head into gymnastics with Ms. Jama, while Jemma, Mackenzi, and I dart into dance class with Ms. Tawny.

Ms. Tawny is always happy to see us and we love Ms. Tawny. Once everyone is ready and the big hand of the clock is on the 4, we jump right into dancing the day away. We learn the tech-niques of dancing and have a lot of fun dancing to our favorite songs. Dance is so much fun that the hour of dance flies by. Now that it’s almost five o’clock, I need to jump into my gymnastics gear and start stretching with Jama’s gymnastics. Gymnastics is filled with rockin and rolling tumbling tunes while we learn the position of the day from Ms. Jama. We learn to control our bodies, climb, jump, roll, and be respectful to others. It is now six o’clock and I hear Sam talking in the lobby. Sam is my

Tae-Kwon-Dao teacher and he has been teaching my brother and I since we were very little. Once the clock hits six, I have to quickly change into my Tae-Kwon-Dao equipment and get ready for Sam’s class. Sam’s class focuses on blocks, kicks, punches, sweeps, throws, and locks, but most importantly, respect, self-control, and responsibility. Sam always takes the time to show us the correct techniques.

My day at the Clubhouse has come to an end for today. It’s now seven o’clock and my mom is waiting for me in the lobby as I gather my backpack, stuffed with my various uniforms and head towards the door. It feels like I just got here, but I guess time flies when you’re having fun. My mom and I head over to the Fountain Valley Kingston Branch to pick up my brother who is just getting back from the RBI game in Garden Grove. He seems a little disappointed that his team lost the Championship game, but he tells mom that he had a great time this season and can’t wait to try again next year. On the drive home I tell my brother what he missed at Tae-Kwon-Dao as he tells us about the highlights of tonight’s baseball game. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley and the Clubhouse Academy are our second homes; without them we would not have a chance to do these great activities.

Clubhouse Academy Branch

Time for Fun!

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16582 Brookhurst Street Fountain Valley, CA 92708

BO Y S & G I R L S C L U BS O F H UN T I N G T O N VAL L EY

Phone: 714 531-2582 Fax: 714 531-7850

Shoe the Kids Event

Thanks to the Surf City Rotary Club of Huntington Beach and Payless ShoeSource, 100 disadvantaged kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley will be able to start the school year putting their best feet forward.

Last Saturday, August 23rd, 100 children from the Club’s Twilight Education Program, which provides English language education for low-income immigrant families, were bused from the Boys & Girls Club to one of two local Payless Shoes stores. 50 children went to each store, where they were able to choose a new pair of shoes that were just their size and style to wear to school this fall, making their selection from all the latest fall fashions. The shoes are provided free to these families in need through the generosity of Payless ShoeSource and the Rotary Club.

After the shopping extravaganza, the children and parents were bussed back to the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Huntington Beach Branch for a barbeque lunch provided by the Surf City Rotary Club. Thank you for putting smiles on the faces of our kids!