2022 Quarter 2 Club Champions Newsletter

CLUB CHAMPIONS Quarterly Report Vol. 2, 2022

WHATS NEW THIS QUARTER! It's Summertime!

School Term Recap RWYC Fleet Overhaul

New Website

True Champions As a Club Champion, you represent a COMMITMENT to the youth of the Greater Temple Community. The steadfast commitment of YOU, the CLUB CHAMPION is obvious in the fact that for the second year in a row, the contributions made by our CLUB CHAMPIONS has surpassed the estimated annual contribution. Our CLUB CHAMPIONS are always on time and for the right cause within the youth club. Whether it is supporting fine arts, procuring books for the library, golfing to contribute 100% of your funds to the club, sponsoring for the CMB Jr. Golf Classic or wining and dining on New Year’s Eve to drum up funds, you never let the youth of our community go without. It is this type of philanthropy that allows our programs to remain affordable and of the utmost quality for our youth. The Board of Directors of Ralph Wilson Youth Club are appreciative of your efforts and faith in the youth club.

Ralph Wilson Youth Club kicked off another summer program with the traditional bang. Nearly 600 youth arrived at the youth club during the month of June to explore a variety of summer activities. Our youth have been exposed to numerous opportunities to include basketball camp, football camp, field trips, Bible Club, STEM program and fine arts. During the first month of summer, our youth ventured on 17 field trips. A total of 110 youth participated in basketball and football camp. Youth got the thrill of experiencing exciting places such as Kyle Field, Cameron Park Zoo, Xtreme Jump, Gattis Pizza, and Slice of Heaven Farm to name a few.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes Visits RWYC Fellowship of Christian Athletes resumed their longstanding tradition of having athletes perform community outreach at Ralph Wilson Youth Club. Over 60 local seniors spent a morning at the youth club interacting with the youth. FCA athletes played volleyball, kickball, and basketball with the youth. In addition, the athletes also played nonathletic games with the youth. The FCA group of youth included area graduating seniors that were chosen to participate in the FCA All Star Game for softball and baseball. Youth club members benefitted tremendously from the interactions with these area athletes of sound character.

Temple High School Project Graduation Ralph Wilson Youth Club partnered with Temple Independent School District to host Temple High School’s annual Project Graduation event. The partnership with the district allowed over 500 graduates from Temple High School to celebrate their high school graduation in a safe and secure environment. The overnight event featured food and games for the graduates. The youth club has made a concerted effort to allow organizations from within and around our community to take advantage of the resources that are offered for youth of all ages within the facility.

RWYC Continues to Host Local School Districts The youth club hosted various end of school events for learning institutions from Rogers, Belton and Temple during the final month of the school year. The youth club is offered up to the surrounding districts as the ideal location to host celebratory events for youth that have met or exceeded the expectations of their respective institution of learning. In total, 6 end of year events were hosted at the youth club. An estimated 585 youth were positively impacted by their experience at the youth club.

School Term Recap

The youth club completed a successful 21-22 academic year. The youth club provided service to more than 600 children over the duration of the academic year. Youth from Temple ISD, Belton ISD, and Academy ISD populated the halls of the youth club. The 21-22 academic year saw a continued rebound from attendance drop that occurred in the spring of 2020. The after-school program continued to offer our youth with opportunities to expand their academic prowess through our study hall and computer lab. Minds were also stimulated through our fine arts curriculum. Youth were treated to seasonal experiences related to Halloween, Read Across America Day, Valentine’s Day and Easter.

The importance of the after-school program cannot be underscored. It ensures our youth have access to safe and structured activities during the hours immediately following the conclusion of school. The experiences with a professional staff and the opportunity to meet youth from different schools is a big positive for the kids.

610 Children Served

Highest Registration Month

March - 350

19 Schools Served

RWYC Completes Fleet Overhaul Three years ago, the youth club identified a significant issue with the bus fleet. The fleet was aging, and the youth club was incurring significant costs associated with the repair of the fleet. As a result, an emphasis was placed on identifying funding and allocating it for the procurement of new buses to transport our youth from our service schools to the youth club. In addition, the fleet plays a huge role in the transport of youth to over 30 field trips that occur as a part of our summer camp program.

Thanks to the ongoing support of our Club Champions and several ‘special’ contributors, the youth club has successfully purchased three new buses over the course of the last three years. This equates to 50% of the fleet now being comprised of new buses. The new buses allow our youth to be transported in airconditioned buses that feature seatbelts and several other additional safety features.

Website Redesign As a part of the youth club’s ongoing commitment to improving the customer’s digital experience, the rwyckids.org website has undergone a total overhaul. The goal of the revamped website is to ensure the website is a positive reflection of the great programs occurring at the youth club. In addition, most of the club’s financial transactions are conducted through the website, thus, donors and parents are frequently on the site.

College students Gracie Green and Elizabeth Ordner took extra initiative to launch several new academic enrichment initiatives for the Summer of 2022. The duo created and implemented a curriculum for STEM, writing, Bible Club, and Book Club. The program has proven to be a tremendous asset in helping reducing the summer slide that many youth experience with no school during the summer.

The other benefit is the program added another form of programming for youth to access while spending time at the youth club.

The STEM program offered youth opportunities via projects such as Eco Columns, marble mazes, and paper airplane launchers. The Cursive Club focused on teaching youth how to write two letters per session. The youth were also given exercises to allow them to apply the learned skill set. Bible Club allowed youth to become familiar with various scriptures within the Bible. The youth then engaged in activities that corresponded with the respective scripture. Examples included The Creation Story, Noah’s Ark, and the Birth of Jesus. The Book Club allowed youth ages 58 to read a picture book, while youth ages 9-12 read a chapter book. After completing the book, youth completed an activity that tested their knowledge of what they read in the book.

MORE SUMMER

FUN!

ALTRUSA & Rotary call RWYC home The local chapter of ALTRUSA International and the Temple Rotary Club made Ralph Wilson Youth Club their meeting place for the 21-22 school year. The two service driven organizations used the youth club as the location that they gathered for their weekly / bi-weekly meetings to organize for upcoming service projects and luncheons to host guest speakers. The youth club was proud to allow both agencies to orchestrate community goodwill from within the confines of the facility. What started during the pandemic when groups struggled for meeting spaces, has turned into new partnerships that benefit both organizations.

American Legion continues support of RWYC American Legion Post 133 continues to be a strong supporter of the youth club. The organization presented the youth club with a check in the amount of $1,500.

The check validates the support of the American Legion for the mission of Ralph Wilson Youth Club.

Wildcat Mentors wrap up another positive campaign The Wildcat Mentors program wrapped up another successful year of impacting the youth of Temple ISD. Over 100 adults committed to mentoring a youth within our community for the duration of the school year. The program launched with a meet and greet at the youth club and concluded with an end of year party for everyone in the program at the youth club.

Youth and adults had one last opportunity to enjoy one another’s company prior to the summer break.

They were able to enjoy food, games, inflatable play structures, and various athletic games. Ralph Wilson Youth Club is proud to be a partner with the Wildcat Mentors program.

The partnership entails the youth club hosting the programs annual kick off and end of year event. As a part of the partnership, the youth club provides the meal for both events.

RWYC continues UMHB Occupational Therapy partnership For the third consecutive year, the youth club has opened its doors to the UMHB Occupational Therapy program as a site for graduate students to get field work. The occupational therapy students are on site at the youth club for eight hours per week. The goal of the graduate students is to promote and advocate for healthy development of the youth. During their time, they work with kids to help them focus on daily tasks to include social participation, education, and play. The graduate students implemented behavior management and emotional regulation activities for the youth. Targeted activities were put in place that allowed the youth to express emotions. Partnerships such as this enable the youth to benefit from additional professional expertise to facilitate the improvement of their overall well-being.

April

Boy & Girl of the Month

Siya Patel

D'Andre Green

May Boy & Girl of the Month

Ameliana Dominy

Gabriel Garcia

June

Boy & Girl of the Month

Audrey Schmidt

Hudson Macey