Lori Escobar El Toro Boys & Girls Club
By Crystal Han
T
here’s a jubilant air inside the Lori
Escobar El Toro Boys and Girls
Club as kids gather around to
receive instructions. They listen intently to
their unit director and then rush into groups
to complete their assigned task. Laughter
and playful jeers quickly flood the room and
spill into the halls. These kids are having
such a great time that they may not even
realize they’re learning important lessons
that will shape their futures.
The Boys and Girls Club has always
made it their mission to inspire and empow-
er young people to realize their full potential
and become productive, responsible, and
caring adults. They do this by focusing on
the 5 core values of the club: Education,
Arts and Cultural Enrichment, Technology,
Sports, and Life Skills. During the school
year, kids are encouraged to become very
academic and involved. It is important
that they develop good habits like listening
in class, asking questions , building good
literacy skills, and doing their homework.
Each day after school the kids start off with
Power Hour, a time where they do their
homework, read, and study. Then they have
an hour of organized games that gets them
running and exercising. Next, the kids are
separated into age groups, where they focus
on the core area of the day. The club sets
very realistic goals for its members. If kids
are getting C’s and B’s, the next year they’re
encouraged to try for all B’s. If they have all
40
B’s, then the next year they need to try for
A’s and B’s. These steps help the kids suc-
ceed and gain confidence. No matter how
they do, the most important thing is that
they tried their hardest. “Give it all you’ve
got, one hundred percent. You might not
get the results that you want, but you’ll
know you tried your best,” says the club’s
site director, Alban Diaz.
Maintaining a strong sense of self is also
very important to the Boys and Girls Club.
They have designed programs like Smart
Girls, which teaches girls to maintain their
own sense of identity. Girls learn not to
be influenced by what the media says they
should look and act like, and that the most
important thing is to be themselves. For
boys, they have the Passport to Manhood
program, which teaches boys that a true
man doesn’t join gangs or get into fights, he
is respectful and takes care of responsibili-
ties. Boys learn that going to school, getting
good grades, and helping their family is a
real reflection of how a man should behave.
To reward the hard work their kids do
during the school year, the Boys and Girls
Club have a summer program packed with
fun activities. They still work on the 5 core
areas, but the focus is more on having a
great time. Every year, the staff tries to make
it the best summer ever.
For Site Director Alban Diaz, there’s no
question that the club yields positive results.
Alban started coming to the Boys and Girls
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
club when he was in the 4th grade and he
continued all the way up to junior high.
He had seen older members come to work
for the club and so he asked for a job and
was hired, a gift that he paid forward. Four
members of his staff are people whom he
has helped since they were in the 4th grade.
“We know what we’re trying to do here
because we all came from here. We’ve seen
how they helped us out,” Alban explains.
He and his staff have helped dozens of
kids turn their lives around and become
successful. Just this year, one of their mem-
bers, Armando Banuelos , was accepted to
Stanford University!
The Boys and Girls Club always wel-
comes help. The club needs homework
tutors and people who have the expertise
and ability to get kids interested in science.
They also need coaches for football, soccer,
and basketball. People can also contribute
by doing special events.
A childhood is a precious thing that only
comes around once. The dedicated staff at
the Boys and Girls Club see each other and
the kids as one big family. Their top prior-
ity is that the kids are happy and on the
right track. “You can see how the kids come
in here and they respect the staff and the
building. If you go out and see what they’re
doing, you can see the joy on their faces.
They’re smiling the whole day. For me,
that’s giving a kid an amazing childhood,”
Alban says.
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