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Warriors to Unveil Reading & Learning Center at Leonard J. Meltzer
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland
OAKLAND, California|October 29, 2004
Warriors to Unveil Reading & Learning Center at Leonard J. Meltzer
Boys & Girls Club.
Read To Achieve Event Is Part Of Grand Opening At Oakland Boys & Girls Club Branch
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Golden State Warriors announced today that the team, along with Kelly Moore Paints, will unveil its newest Reading and Learning Center at the Leonard J. Meltzer Boys & Girls Club in Oakland (920 24th Street) on Monday, November 1 from 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. Following the grand opening and unveiling, Warriors players Eduardo Najera, Mike Dunleavy, Derek Fisher, Dale Davis and Luis Flores will join team President Robert Rowell, Warriors’ legend Alvin Attles, NBA great Bob Lanier and several community leaders to participate in a Reading Time Out with 100 children from various organizations in downtown Oakland.
Following a brief press conference to kick-off the event, the Warriors will unveil three unique rooms that were created during the renovation. The refurbished rooms, all of which were repainted thanks to donations by Kelly Moore Paints, include:
The Teen Lounge - which includes couches, televisions, DVD players, computers, tables and chairs.
The Reading and Learning Room - which includes school books, reference materials, and furniture.
The Warriors Locker Room - which includes over $60,000 worth of donated exercise equipment.
“Our Leonard J. Meltzer Clubhouse in West Oakland, one of three Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland branches, was built in 1950 and is in great need of repair,” said Calvester Stanley, President, Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland. “The Golden State Warriors have been an invaluable community partner - through grants, ticket donations, player involvement, and major refurbishments such as this project. We greatly appreciate the Warriors’ longtime support for our Club and the nearly 2,300 girl and boy members, ages 6 to 17, whom we serve.”
The Reading Time Out includes player read alouds, interactive activities, visits from Warriors’ mascot Thunder, the Warrior Girls and Clifford the Big Red Dog, and several other exciting literacy activities. Each child will also receive a Warriors goodie bag, as well as two books.
The unveiling is part of the NBA’s Read to Achieve Week in which all 30 NBA teams will be hosting special literacy activities, which will be highlighted in both national and local media campaigns. NBA Entertainment will be present to tape footage for both national and local Read to Achieve public service announcements.
The Warriors’ Read to Achieve Program, presented by Ross Dress for Less, is the team’s highly acclaimed child literacy program conducted in partnership with Bay Area elementary/middle schools and public library systems. In conjunction with the NBA’s league-wide Read to Achieve initiative, Warriors players and other members of the Warriors All-Star Reading Team will bring the joy of reading year-round to Bay Area children through monthly Read to Achieve readings, Reading Centers and other exciting literacy activities. Read to Achieve expands each year and now reaches thousands of children at libraries, schools and youth centers throughout the Bay Area.
Please call Karin Seid at 510-444-8211 for more information.
September 8, 2004“Rebuilding Together Volunteers Take on Mead Avenue in West Oakland Repairing Homes, Boy & Girls Club, and Making Block-Wide Improvements
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland
OAKLAND, California|Sept. 8, 2004
“Rebuilding Together Volunteers Take on Mead Avenue in West Oakland Repairing Homes, Boy & Girls Club, and Making Block-Wide Improvements
OAKLAND, Calif.,—Sept. 8, 2004—On September 11th and 18th Rebuilding Together Oakland will hold its second annual West Oakland Block Building Program. This year’s program will focus on Mead Avenue, between San Pablo Avenue and Market Street. Hundreds of Rebuilding Together volunteers will converge on Mead Avenue on both days to renovate three homes, make block-wide improvements, and repair the adjacent Leonard J. Meltzer Branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland.
Each April, Rebuilding Together Oakland (RTO) repairs homes of low-income elderly and disabled homeowners as well as community facilities throughout Oakland. Now with the September Block Building Program, RTO concentrates its efforts on a single block area. According to Executive Director John Caner, “With our Block Building Program we see the opportunity to impact not only individual lives, but a whole neighborhood”.
The RTO home improvement teams will focus on repairs intended to keep the elderly homeowners safe and comfortable in their homes, including porch and flooring repairs, installation of handrails and weather stripping, plastering, painting and general clean-up. Block-wide improvements will include graffiti removal, and debris clean-up, weeding and eventual speed bumps installed by the City of Oakland. Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland’s Meltzer Branch will receive roof repairs, new flooring, new lighting, interior painting and general clean-up.
RTO decided to focus on West Oakland because of the significant community need, and the generous sponsorships from Bank of America’s “America—Block by Block®” program and other Oakland partners. According to Emily Shanks, East Bay Market President for Bank of America, “We are delighted to support Rebuilding Together’s Block Building program where the community can experience immediate improvements to their neighborhood.”
The City of Oakland is also a key partner providing dumpsters, street closure and additional community services for the neighborhood during the program, as well as overall support for RTO. Councilmember Nancy Nadel adds, “This is a great example of a public-private partnership where we can work together by leveraging our respective skills and resources to reduce blight and improve the West Oakland community. We also look forward to a ‘spillover effect’ to inspire other similar projects, that will benefit all of West Oakland.”
The clients served by this year’s program include Velma Cains, age 79, who has lived in her house on 879 Mead Avenue for over 30 years. She looks forward to the new flooring in her back bedroom, a new bathroom window and repairs to her back steps. She says, “ The people from Rebuilding Together have been so nice, and I am so grateful that they will help take care of my home”.
This year’s Block Building Program is unique with the inclusion of the Meltzer Clubhouse across Market Street from Mead Avenue. By renovating the Boys & Girls Club, RTO has an opportunity to serve youth from the entire neighborhood. According to Calvester Stanley, President of Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland, “Our West Oakland Branch was built in 1950 and is in great need of repair. We greatly appreciate Rebuilding Together’s support for our Club, which serves 559 girl and boy members ages 6 to 17, and the 326 other neighborhood youth who benefit from the special programs and activities offered annually at the site. The Clubhouse will eventually serve up to 1,500 West Oakland youth.”
Rebuilding Together’s Block Building Program is made possible by the generous sponsorship and volunteers from Bank of America, The Clorox Company Glad division, Port of Oakland, City of Oakland, Union Bank of California, World Savings, MBH Architects, Turner Construction, Citibank, Silicon Valley Bank, Loansoft and Alliance Metals.
About Rebuilding Together
Rebuilding Together (formerly Christmas in April) is the largest volunteer rehabilitation organization in the nation, providing free repair services to low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly, people with disabilities and families with children. In 1988, Christmas in April USA was founded as a national organization with 13 affiliates serving 18 states. Since then the organization has grown to include 865 cities and towns in all 50 states. To date, over 2.3 million volunteers have worked over 24 million hours to rehabilitate 87,450 houses and nonprofit facilities, delivering $812 million in market value.
The Rebuilding Together Oakland affiliate was established in 1994. Since then RTO has renovated 232 homes of low-income elderly and disabled homeowners as well as 26 community facilities throughout Oakland, engaging more than 11,000 volunteers to create almost $5,000,000 in project value. In 2004 RTO, will have worked on some 27 homes and 3 community facilities, and its 2,100 volunteers will have created close to $750,000 in project value. RTO is accepting applications for its April 2005 Rebuilding Program through October 15, 2004.
Anyone interested in becoming a client, or volunteering for the West Oakland Block Building Program or other programs, should contact Rebuilding Together Oakland at (510) 625-0316, or info@rebuildingtogetheroakland.org.
July 7, 2004Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland Dedicates New Clubhouse Anna Marie Whalen Branch to Serve Over 2,000 Central East Oakland Youth
Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland
OAKLAND, California|July 7, 2004
Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland Dedicates New Clubhouse
Anna Marie Whalen Branch to Serve Over 2,000 Central East Oakland Youth
OAKLAND, California, July 7, 2004 - Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland will commemorate the grand opening of its newest Clubhouse - the Anna Marie Whalen Branch - by hosting a two-day celebration on July 9 and 10, 2004, at its 3300 High Street location. The festivities will feature an official ribbon cutting ceremony, special guests, and an open house.
The Dedication Reception on Friday, July 9, is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., and will include major donors, government officials, and other community partners, by invitation only. The Community Barbecue, presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, is scheduled for Saturday, July 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and is open to the branch’s members, their families, and other community representatives and neighbors.
The Clubhouse, which will eventually serve up to 2,000 Central East Oakland girls and boys, is a 23,000 square foot, multi-million dollar facility featuring a Library and Learning Center, state-of-the-art Technology Center, Arts & Crafts Center, fully-equipped Culinary Arts Kitchen, Recreation Room, Teen Center and Study, Music Rooms, and the spectacular Simpson Family Gymnasium and Performing Arts Center. Innovative programs and services will be overseen by an experienced and caring staff, who are dedicated to pursuing the organization’s mission to develop our community’s youth into positive contributors to society.
According to Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland President Calvester R. Stanley, “The dedication of this Clubhouse is a dream come true, both for our organization and its longtime supporters and for the community, which has needed a new gymnasium for over 30 years. This youth facility will bring year-round services, access to state-of-the-art equipment, and so much more to our local children and teenagers.” Board Chairman Ed Bartlett adds, “This beautiful new facility will give the young people in this area a positive place to grow, develop and become productive members of our community.”
Companies and individuals who are interested in supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland are invited to serve as volunteers and/or sponsor a Club program. Several naming opportunities, as well as the opportunity to purchase personalized commemorative bricks, are also available at the new Clubhouse.
The Anna Marie Whalen Clubhouse is one of three Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland branches. Now in its 63rd year, the Club continues to provide safe places to learn and grow, opportunities for ongoing relationships with caring adult professionals, life-enhancing programs, and other character development experiences each year for over 1,500 girls and boys, ages 6 to 17. The organization plans to expand its capacity to serve a minimum of 5,000 youth - 10% of Oakland Unified School District’s enrollment - by 2005.
Please call Karin Seid at 510-444-8211 for more information.