LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT & CEO

Dear Friend, Beginning in June, SummerMatters @ the Club, our educational and fun summer program, has been active at 11 of our Clubs in Greater Houston. Youth and teens most in need attend a club to continue learning once school ends, to eat nutritious meals, to explore the city on field trips with their friends, and to have fun in a safe environment. This summer has been the best yet, as we joined with partners and donors to give our kids once-in-a-lifetime experiences and to prepare them to return to school. This summer, we had many dynamic programs, such as AstroCamp through our partnership with NASA. One program we launched was BookNook, a digital literacy platform that engages youth in reading, activities and learning games. BookNook has made vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation fun for our Club members of all ages as they reach their summer reading goals. Through our impactful activities and programs, our Club members are ready to go back to school in August. We have joined with elementary, middle and high schools in the city to ensure our youth and teens are on grade level and prepared for upcoming coursework. We invite you to tour a club or volunteer at one of our 14 Clubs across Greater Houston to witness our impressive programs and high-quality staff members, and to meet our incredible Club members. Thank you for your commitment to and consideration for youth in Greater Houston who need us most! Kevin R. Hattery, President & CEO

Great Futures Dinner Thursday, September 21, 2017

Marriott Marquis—Downtown Houston Silent Auction & Reception: 5:30 p.m.

Dinner: 7:00 p.m.

Honoring Maureen and John Graf Chairs: Beth and Craig Lieberman and Waverly

and Adam Peakes Honorary Chairs: Laura and Jack Blanton, Cam and Rod Canion, Mary Martha and Joel Staff,

Carla and Steve Strake

Tables start at $5,000. To sponsor a table, go to bgcgh.org/events or contact Laura Renaud at

lrenaud@bgcgh.org or 713-400-2160.

Fort Bend County Boys & Girls Clubs Sporting Clays Tournament

Tuesday, October 3, 2017 Greater Houston Gun Club

Lunch, Registration & Games: 12:00 p.m. Shoot: 1:00 p.m.

Chairs: Cynthia Barrett and Kevin Zlotnik

Tournament Sponsor: Spark Energy

Teams start at $1,500; sponsorships start at $500.

To sponsor a team, contact Laura Renaud at lrenaud@bgcgh.org or 713-400-2160.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston 815 Crosby Street, Houston, Texas 77019 713-868-3426 www.BGCGH.org

IN THIS EDITION

PAGE 1

Letter from Our President & CEO

Special Events

PAGE 2

Congressman John Culberson

DPR Construction Camp

Capital One Tech Lab

Young Profession-als Flag Football Game

Spark Energy Volunteer Days

Sugar Land Skeeters

PAGE 3

Summer Highlights

PAGE 4

Sysco Kids Cafés

Roger Waters

Performance

Run with the Bulls!

Bee Brilliant

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston Newsletter Summer 2017

JOIN US AT ONE OF OUR SPECIAL EVENTS!

BEHIND THE BLUE DOOR NEWSLETTER Page 2

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston 815 Crosby Street, Houston, Texas 77019 713-868-3426 www.BGCGH.org

Around 100 Spark Energy employees volunteered at the Spring Branch Club, Havard Club, Holthouse Club and Allen Park-way Club in July. Volunteers took time out of their busy work-days to mentor and play with our Club members. Along with their volunteer efforts, Spark Energy is the Tournament Sponsor of the Fort Bend County Boys & Girls Clubs Sporting Clays Tournament. Thank you, Spark Energy, for joining in our efforts to help Houston’s youth achieve great futures!

SPARK ENERGY VOLUNTEER DAYS

CAPITAL ONE TECH LAB AT THE ALLEN PARKWAY CLUB

Congressman John Culberson visited the Spring Branch Boys & Girls Club on Tuesday, August 1st to witness firsthand the National Youth Mentoring Initiative, a grant program administered by the Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention chaired by the congressman. The program strengthens, expands and enhances mentoring programs for 260 of our Club members (31,000 nationwide). Through a three-year, DOJ-contracted study, it was found that this approach results in a positive effect on youth’s social skills and helps to prevent at-risk youth from pursuing delinquent behavior. Thank you, Congressman Culberson, for visiting and for your commitment to mentorship programs!

CONGRESSMAN CULBERSON VISITS SPRING BRANCH BOYS & GIRLS CLUB

DPR CONSTRUCTION CAMP

The Capital One Tech Lab at the Allen Parkway Club is now open to our Club members and youth in the neighborhood, thanks to a cumulative gift of $100,000 through Capital One’s Future Edge Initia-tive. Capital One recently

shared an additional gift of $25,000 to provide digital skills coursework for youth who would otherwise not have access to computers in our community. Thank you, Capital One!

On Thursday, July 13th, 45 DPR Construction employees and their families hosted the second annual Con-struction Camp at the Holthouse Club, where over 100 Club members learned to build and design birdhouses, toolboxes and bug kits. DPR volunteers have also provided a number of construction services, including updating the Sysco Kids Café and outdoor play area. Thank you, DPR Construc-tion, for all you do at our Clubs!

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS FLAG FOOTBALL GAME

The BGCGH Young Profes-sionals Organi-zation hosted their inaugural Flag Football game at the Houston Texans Practice Bubble on Monday, July 17th. Over 40 young profes-sionals participated in this event, where Texans tickets and an autographed football were raffled. To get involved in the BGCGH YP organization, contact Laura Renaud at lrenaud@bgcgh.

We are grateful for our partner-ship with the Sugar Land Skeeters in Fort Bend County. The Skeeters hosted the inaugural Fort Bend County Boys & Girls Clubs Family Event, Sponsor the Batter Up Baseball program at the Richmond-Rosenberg Club, and donate to the Fort Bend County Boys & Girls Clubs

Sporting Clays Tournament. Thank you, Sugar Land Skeeters, for your support in the county!

SUGAR LAND SKEETERS TEAM UP WITH FORT BEND COUNTY CLUBS

SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS

Batter Up Summer Baseball Program Brings Love of Game to our Clubs

Thanks to the Astros Foundation, the Sugar Land Skeeters, the Hamill

Foundation, and MLB Play Ball, our Club members are currently

engaged in a competitive and exciting Batter Up baseball season.

Many of our youth now count this sport as their favorite and practice

each day for their weekly games against other Clubs. Thank you to the

Astros Foundation for providing uniforms for our youth and training for

our staff. We are grateful for our sponsors who have helped to instill a

love of the game in each of our Club members by giving them the

opportunity to play every day this summer!

Carnival Build-A-Bear Family Night with the Houston Texans

On Tuesday, June 27th, 50 BGCGH families attended Carnival Build-A-Bear

Family Night at the John & Cissy Havard Boys & Girls Club. Over 100 youth

participated in interactive stations led by Houston Texans Teen Club

members: Build-A-Bear station, carnival games, Texans prize giveaways

and refreshments. They even had the opportunity to meet Houston Texans

players Jadeveon Clowney and Johnathan Joseph. The event included

a $10,000 donation from Carnival Cruise Lines to BGCGH. Thank you,

Carnival Cruise Lines, Build-A-Bear Workshop and the Houston Texans for bringing joy and fun to our Club members

and their families!

Youth Learn Basketball Skills at James Harden ProCamp

On July 22nd—23rd, over 60 Club members were able to participate in the annual James

Harden Basketball ProCamp thanks to the generosity of BBVA Compass and Kroger. The

basketball camp was open to all ages, both male and female. Harden and other coaches

offered tips and hands-on instruction, including lectures, fundamental basketball skills

stations, contests, and non-contact games in a high-energy, fun, and positive environment.

All participants received hands-on ball handling skills, best shot training and team building.

Each camper went home with a limited-edition James Harden gear package, including a

t-shirt, socks, a photo with Harden and an autographed souvenir.

BEHIND THE BLUE DOOR NEWSLETTER Page 3

120 Club members attended

Play 60: NFL Character Camp

on July 21st at Houston

Methodist Training Center.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston 815 Crosby Street, Houston, Texas 77019 713-868-3426 www.BGCGH.org

Johnny Mitchell Club members

visited The Bryan Museum in

Galveston on July 20th.

Spring Branch and Royal ISD Club

members attended a soccer skills

clinic presented by Manchester

City and sponsored by Nissan.

Richmond-Rosenberg Club

members went to Camp Cloud in

August, where they canoed, did

archery, hiked and fished.

SYSCO KIDS CAFÉS ENCOURAGE HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

When children and teens attend the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston after school and

in the summer, their parents and guardians drop them off with the assurance that they will not

be hungry. After school, Club members receive a healthy meal before they go home. During

the summer, youth receive a balanced breakfast, lunch and snack. We are grateful for our

partnership with Sysco Corporation, a corporation who shares our priority of ensuring that

Houston’s most vulnerable children do not go

hungry. Through an annual donation of

$100,000, Sysco sponsors ten of our Sysco Kids

Cafés, where youth eat meals donated by the Houston Food Bank. 46% of children in the

nation from low-income families say hunger hurts their performance in school; 12% say

that they’re too distracted by hunger to do their homework. These are the statistics we

are trying to combat with the help of Sysco Corporation. We want our youth to have the

same opportunity as other youth in the city, state and country to succeed and excel, and

the first step is making sure they are not only well fed, but fed nutritious, satisfying meals.

Thank you, Sysco Corporation, for investing in the health and well-being of our Club members by sponsoring the Sysco Kids Cafés!

BEHIND THE BLUE DOOR NEWSLETTER Page 4

BEE BRILLIANT CELEBRATES

LEMONADE DAY SUCCESS Mikaila Ulmer, a 12-year-old, founder of Me & the Bees Lemonade, and Shark Tank

entrepreneur, visited the Holthouse Boys & Girls Club on Thursday, July 6th for “Bee

Brilliant”. Club members were encouraged and empowered by Ulmer, Glover Quinn and

Arian Foster to be social entrepreneurs and follow their dreams. Youth also revisited

Lemonade Day sponsored by Holthouse Foundation for Kids, a day all of our Clubs

participate in that teaches youth how to start, own and operate their own

busi ness—a lemonade stand. What a fun experience for our Club members!

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Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston 815 Crosby Street, Houston, Texas 77019 713-868-3426 www.BGCGH.org

TEENS PERFORM WITH

ROGER WATERS

On Thursday, July 6th, over 20 Allen Parkway Club teens

performed with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd at his Us + Them

tour at Houston Toyota Center. The teens danced to “Another

Brick in the Wall” on stage while Waters sang to the crowd of

15,000+. Thank you to

the Houston Rockets

for recommending

BGCGH for this oppor-

tunity and to Roger

Waters for including us

in this once-in-a-

lifetime experience!

RUN WITH THE BULLS!

The Houston Texans Running of the Bulls 5K Run/Walk presented by H-E-B and TORO’s Kids 1K presented by Texas Children’s Hos-pital are Sunday, September 17th at NRG Park. Races in-clude a t-shirt, entry into the post-race party and finish on the floor of NRG Stadium. Our Club members will also be there to cheer on participants. Secure your spot today HoustonTexans.com!