With Club members having returned to school and the Fall colors looking to settle in it means October is here, and with it comes a variety of activities in all core program areas. In our Aquatic program we will continue the first session of Swim Lessons (ages 3–18), while the members of the Marr-lin Swim Team will continue to practice four nights a week in preparation for the start of their N.E.N.E.A.P.C. season. Look for the season-opening Blue/White Meet on 10/26 and the annual Swim-a-thon Fundraiser on 10/27. In our Social Recreation program our small group clubs: Passport to Manhood, Torch Club, Girl Scouts and Fencing Club will continue to meet weekly. Upcoming special events include: an Outdoor Adventure Club Hiking Trip (10/13); a Bantam trip to the Movies (10/19); a Junior trip to Barrett’s Haunted Mansion (10/26); and our Annual Halloween Party for members ages 5 to 12 (10/31). In our Athletic program the 18-team Intramural Floor Hockey program will begin league play, along with the 8-team Flag Football program. The Beginner Gymnastics Class (mon.), the Girls High School Basketball Clinic (thurs.) and the Boys High School Basketball Clinic (sun.) will continue to meet weekly. In addition, our two All-Star Floor Hockey teams will begin regular season play this month with home and away games against Boys and Girls Clubs from the region. At our Walter Denney Youth Center Unit located in Harbor Point we will be hosting an Open House for our tutoring program with U-Mass Boston (10/3), taking an inter-generational Apple Picking Trip (10/13), hosting the Parents Forum (10/18), the Munch & Mingle (10/25) as well as holding our annual Halloween Party (10/31). In our Arts program our Fall Fine Arts classes: photography, painting, sculpture, claymation, t-shirt design, recycled art and creative drawing will continue to meet weekly. Please note all of these classes require pre-registration. We will also host a Marilyn Rodman Theater for Kids Trip to see “War Horse” at the Opera House (10/11). As for our Music Clubhouse our Lesson program will begin this month (pre-registration required) and will be augmented with drop-in times, our Friday Night Live series, “The Shed” Jam sessions, Ensemble Rehearsals and our Open Mic Night on 10/19. One of our ongoing programs is the Kids Café, which provides a hot, nutritious meal to members ages 5 to 12 weeknights at 4:45 p.m. and our Teen members at 6:00 p.m. Parents can register their children at any of our three service locations. In our Teen program the members of the Keystone Club will be volunteering at the Mass. Senior Action Council Dinner (10/4), with the Greater Boston Food Bank (10/10) and will attend a training with the Dale Carnegie Institute (10/20). Lastly, we have the Education program which offers Homework Help four afternoons a week, small group activities such as KidzLit (literacy), Mad Science, and Friday Theme Days. One-to-One Tutoring begins this month and our I.S.E.E. Test Prep Class (pre-registration required) will continue weekly sessions through the month. Special events include the Daniel Marr, Jr. Catholic Schools Scholarship ceremony (10/10), a Financial Literacy Workshop with volunteers from State Street(10/17) and a College Works Retreat in NH with the Grand Circle Foundation(10/20). For more information on any of the October events listed please contact VP of Programming, Mike Joyce at ext. 2110.

Rodman Ride For Kids A Success
This past Saturday, the Club took part in the Annual Rodman Ride for Kids. The event offered riders who are raising funds for youth serving agencies, the opportunity to take part in a 25, 50 or 100-mile bike ride through the towns of Southeastern Massachusetts. With the rain stopping just in time, over 1,000 riders, along with over 300 corporate sponsors, worked to raise over $9.2 million for organizations that provide programs and services to youth. The Boys and Girls Club, which had a number of corporations and friends supporting our cause, expects to raise over $350,000 from the event to support vital programs being offered in all three of our centers. In addition, over 25 volunteers including staff, parents, friends and teen members of the Club spent the day operating a waterstop. We would like to thank our many teams and corporate sponsors who supported the Club effort and also the many board members and community riders who raised funds as part of the agency team. Lastly, many thanks to the Ride staff for their energy and assistance and to Mr. Don Rodman, the Founder of this event, who continues to enthusiastically support the Boys and Girls Club and its members, as well as youth from many other well known non-profit organizations that work with kids. For more information on our next upcoming special event fundraiser, The Grand Drawing at the Copley Fairmont Hotel on 11/17, please contact Kirsten Nelson at 617-288-7120, ext. 1131.