Holiday Happenings

15 Minutes

By ANNE STUDEBAKER HAPPENINGS

The Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows, with tremendous support from the Reno, Sparks and Fernley communities, provides Christmas gifts and goods to local club families in need. In 2015, the Club matched more than 200 families with the help of generous adopters, as well as those who provided extra toys. We were able to help more than 1,500 children.

Many of the families that receive help through our program are Club families that are either living on a very limited income or are homeless. The children in our Holiday Help program range in age from 5 to 18. All are currently enrolled at the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows and have attended the Club at least 52 times in the last year. Each family goes through a pre-screening process before their application is approved for the Holiday Help program, so we know these are families in need of assistance.

We ask that donors specify the size of the family they want to adopt. We always do our best to match donors with the family size they request. Our families range in size from one parent and one child up to two parents with six or more children. It is our hope that donors will provide at least three new, wrapped gifts for each child. In most cases, these gifts will be the only presents our children receive.

Many donors also want to give the parent a gift. We suggest a gift card to Wal-Mart or Save-mart (they can be purchased with restrictions such as no tobacco or alcohol), so the parent can buy f The holiday season is always buzzing around the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows! Aside from our Holiday Help Program which consists of donors in the community adopting our members and their families; we have other exciting events going on as well!

Our annual Breakfast with Santa, sponsored this year by Nevada Family Wealth, was an opportunity for families to have an affordable breakfast together, take a picture with Santa, and engage in many festive activities. On Saturday, December 2nd, we served 600 meals.

Another wonderful holiday event we are lucky to participate in is Shop with a Sheriff. Many lucky club members get the opportunity to be taken on a shopping spree by a Sherriff deputy or an honorary Sherriff deputy. This fun event exposes our youth to some of our communities first responders in a fun way!

Volunteers from the Hot August Nights Foundation (HANF) will be taking 25 of our members on a shopping spree this month to purchase some needed items, like warm clothing, and allow them to purchase Christmas presents for themselves and their families. Each child will be matched with a HANF volunteer that will help them shop.

As the holiday programs wind down, our Strengthening Families Program (SFP) will be gearing up in January. SFP is a 10-week program in which children, ages 6-17, and their parents attend classes focusing on topics that help create happier, more successful families. Modules include topics such as: Communicating with Love and Understanding; Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug Use; Setting Consequences and Limits; Choosing Good Friends and Safe Monitoring Activities. Each class is two hours in length and allows parents and their children to eat a meal together, have specific learning time for parents and children separately and then engage in a family activity based on each week’s module and discussion at the end of the night. Classes are available both in English and Spanish and weekly incentives are available for families who attend. SFP is completely free, including a meal and childcare for children under the age of six. Children whose families participate will receive a scholarship to become members of the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. Welmerink Orthodontics (775) 358-6320 • Prater Way, Sparks Welmerink OrthOdOntics www.welmerkinkorthodontics.com(775) 358-6320 • Prater Way, Sparks CJ, Age 6www.welmerkinkorthodontics.com