Boys and Girls Club
Events to recognize National Boys and Girls Club Week in Lawrence include:
¢ Monday
Boys and Girls Club Gives Back
Members will collect spare change to give to a family in need. They will also clean up parks in their area.
¢ Wednesday
Boys and Girls Club Art Gala 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Douglas County Bank, 300 W. Ninth St.
Artwork will be displayed that was created at the after-school program sites.
¢ Thursday
Spelling Bee at Cordley School.
Each site will send their spelling bee winners to compete in the "Final Spelling Bee" during program hours.
¢ Friday
3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at New York School.
Third- to sixth-graders will form their own teams and compete against teams from all sites.
¢ Saturday
Junior Olympic Skills Competition from 8 a.m. to noon at Pinckney School. Children between the ages of 8 and 13 are encouraged to test their skills in Olympic-type events.
Hundreds of students in Lawrence have been busy preparing for the National Boys and Girls Club Week.
That includes nearly 30 children at Cordley School who competed in a spelling bee in their gymnasium after school Thursday.
"This Boys and Girls Club spelling bee is important to me," said Alexandria Cage, an 8-year-old third-grader at the school.
Alexandria has practiced spelling with her older sister at home.
"I'm excited and kind of scared, but I'm not afraid to show my words," she said. "I know that I can try better if I get the words wrong."
The top three finalists of her school bee will move on to a "Final Spelling Bee" Thursday at Cordley, as part of a weeklong celebration. Eight after-school clubs, including Cordley, will have events from Monday to Saturday at each school site. Lawrence Boys and Girls Club serves 1,200 boys and girls ages 6 to 18. The main goal of the club is to provide a safe place for youths to learn, meet friends and play after school.
"This celebration is really cool because it just gives us an opportunity to show the public what we're about," said Erika Zimmerman, the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club development coordinator.
She said this is the first week the Lawrence chapter of Boys and Girls Club will have an event each day of the nationally recognized week. A variety of events, such as an art gala, Junior Olympic Skills Competition and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, will be open to the public.
Zimmerman said each club will also give back to the community that has supported them by collecting change for families in need and cleaning city parks on Monday.
She invited the public to visit the Art Gala from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Douglas County Bank, 300 W. Ninth St.
"They can come and see all the really cool art that our kids have done, which is what we're encouraging," she said.
One of the features will be a 1,200 paper decorative chain link, representing all the youths served.
Lourdes Kalusha, 8, said she spent lots of time drawing on each link with her friends after school.
"I think the chain is going to be really long," she said.
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