Special to the Patriot-Bridge
Held at the Omni Hotel Boston Seaport on Thursday, January 30, the Annual Dinner celebration finale was a performance by the Boys and Girls Club of Boston (BGCB) Clubhouse Band, with a young soloist from the Gerald and Darlene Jordan Club of Chelsea. The young fellow with great stage presence and a voice and dance moves to match singing Pharrel Wiliams’ Happy song had the more than 900 attendees leaping out of their seats to sing along and groove with the young performer.
This final act was an apt ending to a festive and compelling evening of both kudos for its current successes and new challenges for the Boys & Girls Club for our city and its neighborhoods. The evening’s theme of Transforming Tomorrow showcased the Club’s more recent focus on expanding services for their teen members. As one Board member explained members join as kids and stay, so we need to provide opportunities for them across their stay with us. Dinner Co-chairs Thomas N. O’Brien and Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, along with Board Chair Melissa Weiner Janfazza, underscored the need for both internships from local companies and contributions for those internships. The high energy format of the program was a late night talk show type set up, think Johnny Carson or David Letterman style interviews, nicely delivered by co-hosts, Rick Aggeler, Executive Director of Teen Strategy for the overall Club, and Tea, a long-standing now high school member of the Josh Kraft Mattapan Teen Center.
The program participants, including Jailah, a member of the Gerald and Darlene Jordan Club, shared the impact the teen programs have had on their lives. What this year’s Annual Dinner truly highlighted is that, while the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston have been delivering fun and games for many years, they have added another element of teen services: tutoring, after school help, job readiness programs and internships to its older members, providing a full spectrum for youth development in the Boston area.