By Brittany Hanson/Garden Grove Journal
Since 1982, the Boys and Girls Club of Garden Grove and the Garden Grove Unified School District have had a pretty strong friendship.
Mutually beneficial, of course.
It started with some of the buses from BGC picking up GGUSD students at 16 school sites.
Now, BGC helps children, young adults and even families through their partnership with GGUSD. What GGUSD gets in return are invaluable resources for after school programming and aid to needy and at risk students.
This helpful partnership was highlighted at Tuesday’s school board meeting when Margaret Feliciani, GGUSD’s director of K-12 Educational Services, gave a presentation about the 29-year-old relationship.
“This year, GGUSD can apply for a 21st century grant to expand our current after school programs, family literacy and have additional high school sites,” said Felciani.
Right now, the BGC hosts After School Education and Safety for 40 elementary schools, nine intermediate schools in GGUSD and hosts the After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens at two high school sites.
As it stands, the programs are filled to capacity.
“The BGC is so popular . . . we’re hoping with this 21st century grant we can include more sites and include more students,” said Felciani.
Of the programs that BGC hosts in GGUSD, ASES and ASSETS serve around 6,000 students and strive to improve academic performance, school behavior, after school safety, develop social skills and increase parental involvement.
On top of these programs, BGC works to instill “Be Great Traits” in students and young people by teaching them the importance of safety, responsibility and respect.
BGC works in collaboration with GGUSD to provide outreach to homeless families. This kind of outreach looks like 400 students receiving backpacks, 429 families receiving emergency food, 125 students receiving emergency clothing and 68 students were connected to medical, dental or vision services.
There is also the Family Youth Outreach Program and the Truancy Reduction Center, summer programs for elementary and intermediate school students as well as networks for services ranging from preschool to health programs, counseling and school life enrichment.
“We should thank the BGC . . . we don’t take them for granted and they don’t take us for granted,” said Linda Reed, board member
