The Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester (BGCD) last celebrated the start of the Olympic Games in Tokyo last Friday with its own Olympic Day competitions.
Over the course of the morning, roughly 150 children enrolled in BGCD’s summer programs participated in a series of sports and “minute-to-win-it” activities.
They also made signs for Samantha “Sam” Mewis, a Dorchester resident, midfielder on the USA Women’s Soccer Team, and a major supporter of the BGCD.
“We wanted the kids to feel connected [to the Opening Ceremony] in a meaningful way, so we hosted an Olympic Day and we were able to have the kids show support for Sam,” said Mary Kinsella Scannell, BGCD’s senior vice president of education and programming. “They painted signs and talked a little about who she is and what she does as an athlete.
“It’s really important that Sam is recognized as an Olympian and an athlete. It makes the kids feel connected to something bigger than themselves. When they see her in that way, it helps them to recognize what you can do when you want to do something, and you work hard for it. And I think that’s what the Boys & Girls Club is all about,” said Kinsella, who added:
“Opportunities that might not otherwise exist exist here at the Boys & Girls Club. There are people here who will support kids’ dreams and hopes.”
Mewis has previously visited the Club, run soccer clinics for the kids, furnished gifts, and even partnered with a local brewery to support BGCD.
She is, in Scannell’s words, “a person who recognizes the need for giving back. She has been very generous in a lot of different ways and is inspiring to the kids here at the Boys & Girls Club. We’re all rooting for her and her team.”
