WASHINGTON — Ten-year-old Milan said she had been looking forward to the start of the new school year.
“I was like ‘we have to go get school supplies.’ We have to get folders, we have to get pencils, we have to get everything,'” the 6th grader said.
She was one of dozens of students at Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington in Ward 7 who shopped in a pop-up store created just for them.
Comcast donated pencils, pens, binders, folders, notebooks and other supplies for kids who did not have what they needed before school started this year.
“I was like 'I’m getting more school supplies,'” Milan said she was excited to get other items she did not have.
The goal was to arm students with the physical tools they need to be successful in the classroom.
“We serve the kids who need us most,” Mike McDonald, VP of Government Affairs with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, explained.
McDonald said moments and events such as the back to school store are what the organization is all about.
“It really does help support the family and provide a critical need,” he said.
The BGCGW has 15 sites in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia which serve more than 1,500 kids daily.
Those who work with the children aim to facilitate a constructive safe haven to engage youth and keep them off the streets.
“We do academic support programs, STEM, health and life skills,” McDonald named some of the programs offered at the club.
There are also physical activities, trips and other activities that allow the children to have fun.
Parents pay $50.00 a year to enroll in one of the clubhouses which is less money than what it takes to make all the programming happen.
McDonald said BGCGW is always looking for help through donations and volunteerism.
“There are so many kids who go home to unsafe circumstances after school,” he said. “We will need to work together as a community to make sure the kids have a safe out of school time place.”
If you are interested in learning more about the BGCGW, click here.