Indian Valley Torch Club Night Out

Throughout the fall, Torch Club at the Indian Valley Boys & Girls Club had one goal – earn enough money to buy a flat screen tv for upstairs gamesroom.  The Torch Club members worked tirelessly selling hot dogs, walking tacos, milkshakes and other treats at the Club.  Each week the members inched closer to their goal.  The group was motivated and driven and presented the Club with a new television shortly before Christmas.

With the remaining funds, the members wanted a night out!  The group headed to nearby Dominoes for a night of socializing and yummy pizza!   The members had the chance to interact with the Dominoes staff, ask questions about how pizza was made and of course, eat lots of pizza!

Torch Club is about to embark a few new service projects including making no slip socks for local nursing homes and making blankets for Project Linus.  The group also wants to buy t-shirts and maybe plan another fun field trip in the spring!

Bike Donation!

Thanks to a local company for donating 21 bikes to the Boys & Girls Club.  And thanks to Reimel Landscaping for transporting the bikes back to the North Penn Valley Boys & Girls Club.

Wissahickon Valley’s Winter Wonderland

This past holiday season was truly a magical winter wonderland in Wissahickon Valley! Our club members had fun getting into the holiday spirit starting with our winter movie night. On three different screens, students and community members alike enjoyed hot chocolate, popcorn and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!

The following week, our club members rocked the Sugarplum Shakedown! This was a holiday event with all things merry… cookie decorating, holiday crafts, games and of course, a visit from Santa! Each student was able to pick a gift from Santa’s sack of toys. Santa and students had a jolly good time! Thanks for sharing your magic, Santa! 

For our final soiree of the season, our club hosted a Gingerbread House making event! A local dance troop, Fruitful Children, provided the gingerbread houses and fixings for our members and theirs! Our new building had never seen so many guests, but thanks to their helpers, we were able to make it a magical end to our winter wonderland season!

As winter break comes to an end, we are all looking forward to more magical moments that 2018 is sure to bring!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thank you VNA Foundation of Greater North Penn

We received a $10,000 grant from the VNA Foundation for kitchen upgrades at our Wissahickon Valley Boys & Girls Club!  Our “Kids in the Kitchen” program will benefit from the grant which will include new appliances and equipment!  Our new supplies will come in handy when our Club members get to cook for their families or when we host family events!Thank you VNA for all your support!  Pictured are ( l to r): Anne Frank, Bud Leister (VNA Board Members), Donna Kreamer, Bob Kreamer (Boys & Girls Club), and Dr. Dr. Jerry Sag (VNA Board Member).

Introducing Wissahickon Valley’s Keystone Club!

Wissahickon Valley is lucky to offer our middle school students a national Boys and Girls Club program – Keystone Club! This program provides members with responsibility, self respect and a sense of community through volunteer work and community involvement. To be a Keystone Club member is a privilege. With each community activity and service trip, the members earn an incentive trip! Incentive trips help our members understand that hard work plays off in more ways than one! Keystone Club runs for 8 weeks every Fall, Winter and Spring.

Keystone Club’s first Fall session at Wissahickon Valley was a success! Our members were able to visit a culinary school, play BINGO with a veteran, volunteer in the community and go on a college campus tour. Keystone Club helped beautify a new local grocery store by planting bulbs and collecting trash. With this particular opportunity, the kids felt a true sense of community and they even got to go shopping!

Our fall session also included a memorable college visit. Gwynedd Mercy University is a local university and although many students had driven past, they had no perception of what the campus was actually like. For most of the members, it was their first time visiting a college! After a short presentation providing information on the college application process, the kids took a campus tour! It was here where students came to the realization that attending college is a pretty awesome goal to have. As one student pointed out, “My mom won’t be at college to stop me from eating ice cream for breakfast!” Sparks ignited and the dream of going to college is now in full swing!

Because of the student’s responsibility and commitment to the club, they were able to vote on an incentive trip! It was a unanimous decision: Starbucks! We traveled down the street to Starbucks in Spring House where the kind staff helped each student order a signature Starbucks drink (decaf of course)! With good books in hand, the students relaxed while sipping their hard earned Frappuccinos!

We are looking forward to another successful Keystone Club session this winter. Keep an eye out for us around town!