The Boys & Girls Club Is

PRESS RELEASE: Contact: Ruth Provost For Immediate Release 508 477 8845 January 9, 2009 BOYS & GIRLS CLUB Of CAPE COD, INC. THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB IS The Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod, Inc. OPEN ALL DAY & HAS A SKI TRIP PLANNED ON JANUARY 16 Kraft Family Club House AND IS OPEN ON MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY! P.O. Box 895 31 Frank E. Hicks Drive Mashpee, MA 02649 The Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod is open for all kids grades 1-8 on the Cape- TEL: 508-477-8845 wide no school day January 16 and has a ski trip planned for kids in grades 4 and FAX: 508-477-1991 EMAIL: [email protected] up on that day. The Club is also open on Martin Luther King Day, January 19 WEB SITE: and has an onsite Day of Service project planned for the kids in addition to their www.BoysGirlsClub regular recreation, gym, arts, and education programs. CapeCod.org Board of Directors The January 16 and Martin Luther King Day programs and trip are open to all Nathan H. Berkowitz Karen Bissonnette Cape children! Any Cape child age 6 and up can attend the program during these Maryanne Bolsover two days,” said Ruth Provost, Club Executive Director. John Callahan Brian Cooke Paul Drepanos The Clubhouse is open from 8:30 - 5:30 pm for the drop-in program on both days, Judith Fitzgerald Polly Galliker with sports, arts & crafts, computers, and games available during the day on Susan George Friday, January 16, which a no school day Cape-wide, and on Monday Robert Hassey David Hendrick January19, which is Martin Luther King Day. The drop-in program is free for Brian A. Hyde Club members and costs $5 for unlimited usage during the each day for non- James Kiley Kevin Kirrane members. “This is a great time for non-members to visit the Club, enjoy the Lissa Lindsley facilities and programs, and get their name on the wait list for full membership!” Haskell Maude Michael Pappas Provost added. Ken Pedicini Paul Sylvia Robert Terry The Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod is centrally located on the Upper Cape at 31 Linda Zammer Frank E. Hicks Drive in Mashpee, right off of Route 151, near Mashpee Officers Commons and behind the Mashpee Police and Fire Stations. Nathan H. Berkowitz President In addition to the drop-in program at the Clubhouse on January 16, the Club will David Hendrick Vice President be offering a Ski Trip to Wachusett Mountain for children and teens in grades 4-8 Judith Fitzgerald on a first come, first served basis. “The Ski Trip is one of our most popular, and Treasurer fills up fast, so parents are urged to sign up as soon as possible since we can only John Callahan take 26 children,” said Provost. Secretary Executive Advisory Board Jack Cramer The Ski Trip to Wachusett Mountain is open to any Cape child or teen in George W. Baker, Jr. grades 4 to 8. There are no lessons provided and the Club recommends that Kenneth Bates Anne Grosso anyone going should know how to ski. Children should also bring a lunch or Ann MacDonald-Dailey money for lunch and dress appropriately. Rental forms for equipment are James Long Joseph McGee available at the Club and will need to be filled out in advance. The vans will Jamie Regan leave the Boys & Girls Club at 6:00am SHARP and will arrive at Wachusett John DeNaples at 8:00am. The kids will lunch on Mountain at noon, leave at 4:00pm, and arrive William Zammer back at the Boys & Girls Club at 6:30pm. Ruth Provost Executive Director Under Organization There is a fee for the Ski Trip and limited scholarships are available with Auspices of Boys & Girls documented need. Lift tickets are $32 for ages 10-12 and $39 for kids age 13 and Clubs of America up. Ski or Snowboard rentals are $27; helmet rentals are $7 and there is a transportation fee of $5. The Club accepts MC or Visa. Children must have signed parental permission slips and emergency contact information on file before they can go on a field trip. For more information and to sign up for trips please call the Club at 508-477-8845 or email them at [email protected].

On Martin Luther King Day, the Club will be celebrating the MLK Day of Service by having the kids make a special wall hanging for a homeless transitional shelter with help from AmeriCorps Cape Cod. There is no fee to participate in this project and it is open to any child who is at the Club on Martin Luther King Day.

In addition to the wall hanging project at the Boys & Girls Club, AmeriCorps will be working to renovate The Village at Cataumet, a transitional housing shelter serving seventeen families. The Village at Cataumet is operated by the Housing Assistance Corporation. AmeriCorps is looking for volunteers to help repair, paint, and decorate the Village spaces to improve the quality of living for shelter residents. Some of the volunteer roles for this event include: spackling and painting walls; installing wall shelves; sewing and hanging window curtains; and building bookcases and outdoor benches. If you can help out at the shelter, call or email AmeriCorps Cape Cod at [email protected] or (508) 375- 6864.

AmeriCorps Cape Cod (ACC) has successfully planned and executed MLK Day projects for the past 6 years. Project activities have varied from making quilts for shelter residents, organizing inventory for a food pantry, building housing units with Habitat for Humanity, serving meals at a soup kitchen, winterizing homes of low-income citizens, painting areas inside shelters and non-profits, organizing educational campaigns, and creating a mural. ACC has engaged over 400 community volunteers through MLK Day projects and has enriched the lives of many community members.

Initiated by Congress in 1994, King Day of Service builds on that that legacy by transforming the federal holiday honoring Dr. King into a national day of community service grounded in his teachings of nonviolence and social justice. The aim is to make the holiday a day ON, where people of all ages and backgrounds come together to improve lives, bridge social barriers, and move our nation closer to the “Beloved Community” that Dr. King envisioned.

AmeriCorps is a federally funded national service movement overseen by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Often referred to as the "Domestic Peace Corps," AmeriCorps engages Americans of different ages and backgrounds in service to address the most critical needs in our nation's communities. Examples of program focus areas are education, literacy, public safety, the environment and disaster response.