Monday marked the beginning of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia’s free 8-week virtual summer program.
Operating through July 31st, the program includes a diverse range of fun activities designed to increase opportunities for academic engagement, promote mental health, and provide for basic needs. With over 240 Club members already enrolled, registration will remain open all summer to kids ages 6-18 through the BGCCVA Virtual Programming Consent Form.
Consisting of at least two live and one prerecorded online sessions each week, program opportunities include Summer Reading, STEM and arts projects, wellness, and other enriching activities. The Club is also delivering books, program supplies, and sports equipment to members to promote participation, regardless of internet access.
Summer Reading is designed to reduce the academic slide created by COVID-19. Every two weeks, grade-appropriate books and related activities that intentionally include a wide range of interests and diverse characters are distributed to participants. Weekly live read-along sessions feature a line-up of local celebrities and friends of the Club.
Among other program highlights, the Club’s STEM specialist is leading participants in Story City, a multi-week project that engages kids from their homes in designing and building their own unique cityscapes. Additionally, the arts specialist has designed a weekly virtual art studio for members to practice painting and drawing techniques.
To promote mental health, the Club’s wellness coordinator engages members in mindfulness and social-emotional wellbeing. Interactive healthy cooking videos and group exercises are also included in the program.
“It’s been difficult not seeing our kids at the Club every day. We miss hearing our walls echo their joyful laughter,” says Boys & Girls Club CEO James Pierce. “This will be the first summer since the Club opened 28 years ago that we will not be physically open, but ultimately, we need to protect the health and safety of our members, families, and staff. I’m grateful that our virtual summer allows us to stay connected with members, and I continue to be impressed by their ability to adapt to challenging situations.”
Boys & Girls Club continues to address additional community needs and disseminate information to members and families. Beginning May 12th, the Cherry Avenue Club partnered with local caterer Pearl Island Café to distribute 200 meals twice a week to members and parents. As demand continues, World Central Kitchen is joining the effort throughout the summer. The Cherry Avenue Club has also established a community pantry stocked with non-perishable foods. Club members and families are encouraged to take what they need.
“It is more important than ever that we are able to be a reliable resource to children and families,” explains Pierce. “We are working closely with local school systems, the Charlottesville Area Network Dedicated to Youth Development, and other valued community partners to ensure that for this summer and beyond, we are taking strategic and effective steps toward meeting the increased academic, mental health, and basic needs of young people.”
With plans to reopen facilities no sooner than August 3rd, the Club has assembled a Safe Reopening Committee, comprised of Club board, staff, local health professionals, and a UVA risk analyst. Guided by the Virginia Department of Education’s “Recover, Redesign, Restart 2020” plan, the committee is meeting weekly to establish updated health and safety protocols before reopening.
Matt King is the founder and CEO of a regional commercial real estate development and management company with a focus on projects within close walking distance of universities and city centers. He previously served on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge and Children’s Home Society of Virginia. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University.
Anita McGinty is a longtime volunteer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia. Dr. McGinty comes to the Club with 20+ years of experience in education and research. She began her work as a speech-language pathologist and, after receiving her Ph.D. in 2009, has served as an academic and education leader, influencing practice and policy at local, state, and national levels. In 2021, Anita left her position as an Associate Research Professor within the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia (UVA), having led the data and research agenda for two state education partnerships (spanning children birth to third grade).
Edward Warwick White began his involvement with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia when he joined the Big Gig committee in 2014, later chairing the event in 2016 and co-chairing again in 2018. Edward has been active as a volunteer and Co-Chair of Club Investors. Edward currently serves as the Assistant Dean of the Full-time MBA Program and Student Affairs at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business. Edward earned a Bachelor of Science degree in interdisciplinary studies and elementary education from Radford University and a Masters of Education in Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education from the University of Virginia. Edward has worked for the University of Virginia since 2008—previously with the Office of the Dean of Students and the McIntire School of Commerce. Having resided in Charlottesville since 2007, Edward is active in the local community and performing arts scene—as a director, designer, actor, and volunteer. Edward has served on the board of directors for Four County Players–Central Virginia’s longest running community theater for over ten years, currently serving as the Vice President of the Arts. He resides in Forest Lakes with his husband Gary and their Golden Retriever, Gatsby.
Mike Milligan is the retired Chief Executive of a diversified investment and industrial operating company. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Sue has over thirty-five years of experience in clinical research and public health. She has held positions involved with the management and oversight of medical device and IVD clinical trials, clinical research strategy, and business development.
Ernie was born and raised in Palo Alto, California. Upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1987, he was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps. Ernie served in the Marines for 20 years, in various capacities and all over the world. After serving as an artillery officer with the First Marine Division, Ernie earned his J.D. from The George Washington University School of Law in 1994, and served as a judge advocate in the Marine Corps. Highlights of his service include shipboard deployment as the Staff Judge Advocate to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), 2000 – 2002 and as Commanding Officer of Region 3, Embassy Security Group, commanding the U.S. Marines guarding U.S. Embassies and other diplomatic missions in Asia, 2005 -2007. He retired from military service in 2007, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Gineane grew up in Charlottesville and graduated from UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce in 1992. Shortly after college, she and her husband, Sean Stalfort, moved to New York City where Gineane worked in investment banking and insurance (Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, FGIC, MBIA and ContiFinancial). After returning to Charlottesville, she has provided part-time consulting services to small businesses in the areas of computer systems, invoicing, marketing and website maintenance. Gineane is a valued volunteer leader with various local organizations including the Contemporary Club of Albemarle, The Emergency Food Bank, US Lacrosse, WAHS Lacrosse Club, and the Special Olympics.
Dr. Karen Schulder Rheuban serves as Professor of Pediatrics, Senior Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education and External Affairs, and Director of the University of Virginia Center for Telehealth, which she co-founded in 1995. The Center serves as the hub of a 155 site telemedicine network in the Commonwealth of Virginia, funded in part, by federal and state grants and contracts, and has supported ambulatory and specialty patient visits, e-consults, remote patient monitoring services and thousands of hours of health professional and patient education. UVA is the home of the HRSA funded Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center. Dr. Rheuban is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Telemedicine Association. She recently concluded two terms of service as chair of the Virginia Board of Medical Assistance Services (Medicaid). She chaired the 2020 Virginia Department of Health/Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association’s COVID-19 Response Telehealth Working Group. She led the Institute of Medicine Workshop on Telehealth, serves on the American Medical Association’s Digital Medicine Payment Advisory Group, and the AAMC Telehealth Advisory Committee. Dr. Rheuban has previously testified before the US Senate, the US House of Representatives and the Virginia General Assembly regarding telehealth. With Dr. Elizabeth Krupinski, she co-edited the text “Understanding Telehealth”. Dr. Rheuban is listed in the “Best Doctors in America” database, and was profiled in the National Library of Medicine’s exhibit “Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians.” In 2017, the University of Virginia recognized her with its Thomas Jefferson Award.
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Eric Dewane Johnson graduated from the University of Virginia, where he majored in psychology. He served as the City of Charlottesville first coordinator of the Victim/Witness Assistance Program in which he provided crisis intervention services and court preparation to victims and witnesses of violent crimes. One of his responsibilities was to educate students about establishing healthy relationships to prevent domestic violence. Eric developed an affinity for teaching youth.
A graduate of Mississippi State University, Amanda had a career in Fashion
Basketball great Ralph Lee Sampson, Jr. was born on July 7, 1960 in Harrisonburg, VA to the proud parents of Ralph & Sarah Sampson and the eldest of three children. Sampson credits his sound, small town upbringing in Harrisonburg, Virginia, as well as the love and support of his parents and high school basketball coach, for his success today. At a young age, Sampson learned both the importance of teamwork and leadership, as he led his high school basketball team to three state championships, becoming the most heavily-recruited prospect of his generation.
Melissa has recently returned to the University of Virginia as the John Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business and Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. She is the former Head of Global Diversity and Belonging at Airbnb, where she led the strategy and execution of their global internal diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging programs and retains an external senior advisor role focused on advancing connection and belonging research. Immediately prior to her role at Airbnb, Melissa served as Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence and Professor of Management in the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University. Prior to that, Melissa served as global chief diversity officer and faculty at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business where she led the Women in Leadership executive education program and was the founding academic director of the BRAD lab. She has also held faculty appointments at Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, where she was a member of the faculty for nine years, and also taught at Northwestern’s Kellogg School, Washington University’s Olin School of Business, and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Melissa has been actively engaged in nonprofit board service. She currently serves on the board of Airbnb.org and has previously been a board member at The Center for Nonprofit Excellence, The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, Piedmont CASA, The Center for Dispute Resolution, and the Women’s Opportunity Center.