Community partners support Boys & Girls Clubs of North County

FALLBROOK – It’s summertime at Boys & Girls Clubs of North County and children are swimming, playing and learning. The club’s summer partnerships with other nonprofits and local organizations are important to the overall summer experience for its members.

Fallbrook Regional Health District helps sponsor the Water Safety Program during the summer. Not only do children learn how to swim, but they are also taught how to rescue other swimmers experiencing distress in the water safely and quickly. Young children are at the highest risk of drowning, and the club with the help of the FRHD ensures water safety is taught at an early age throughout the summer.

Usually non-swimmers will be swimming and playing safely in the water by the end of the summer. The club also partners with the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and teaches the youngest charges from 3 to 4 years old how to swim. They walk to the pool from their site down the street.

“Summer is a special time at the club, we get to make great memories for the kids while teaching them valuable life lessons,” said Allison Barclay, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of North County. “We also sneak in STEM education and literacy as fun activities all summer to help students overcome the learning gap that often happens over the summer.”

In addition to partnering with the FRHD and the CDC, the club also partners with California State University San Marcos School of Nursing to provide health services and education during the summer. Not only do the nursing students hand out many band aids and ice packs, but they also share important information.

They recently engaged club members with a learning session on the importance of wearing sunscreen and avoiding the sun during peak hours by finding shade and wearing hats.

Palomar Family Counseling works with club members on learning how to better cope with life stressors and teaches them how to better communicate as well as make better life choices.

One of their activities is throwing a soccer ball with questions back and forth between club members and counselors as a means of getting a conversation going with questions ranging from “What is your favorite game to play?” to “What scares you?” Between the CSUSM nursing students and the Palomar Family Counseling team, club members are well supported all summer.

The Fallbrook Food Pantry also partners with the club and provides weekly gardening experience at the FRHD Wellness Center. Club members team up in groups of two, decide what to plant in their gardens and learn how to care for the gardens to make them grow. They are also taught food nutrition information in a fun and accessible way by food pantry volunteers. Additionally, Child Nutrition Services provides breakfast and lunch daily, keeping club members well fed and healthy.

This summer, music is in the air with the help of the Fallbrook Music Society. club members learn how to read music and play a variety of instruments.

This summer the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County is running summer camps for all three of the local school districts: Fallbrook Unified Elementary, Bonsall and Vallecitos. For 60 years, the club has been the place for youth to go after school for fun memories with friends, programs that would enhance their learning experience and relationships with caring staff. They currently serve over 2,000 children every year at 10 different sites throughout Fallbrook and on U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Summer camp at the club is ongoing, including swimming lessons and a swim team. For more information, visit http://www.bgcnorthcounty.org or call 760-728-5871.

Submitted by Boys & Girls Clubs of North County.