News

Paul Casey, accepts the game ball with

Marion O'Neill, Manager Corporate Contributions, PSE&G,

Gabriella Kramer, Boys & Girls Club of Garfield member

and Joe Quinlan, Seton Hall University Athletic Director.

Boys & Girls Club of Garfield basketball team court-side after their

half-time game at Seton Hall. 

December 2008 - GIS Mapping

The Keystone Club of Garfield recently collaborated with a volunteer group of GIS(Geographic Information System) professionals on a community asset mapping activity.  The Boys & Girls Club of Garfield members Nico McKinley, Pawel Buczek, Damian Luboch, Jordan Griffin, Jeffrey Reyes, and Joshua Descena volunteered time during their winter break to participate in the project. GIS professionals served as mentors to help Club members locate, take pictures and upload community asset data on an interactive mapping application. Club members and GIS mentors began their project early in the afternoon with an introduction and overview of GIS technology. The group then split up into three teams to cover different sections of Garfield. Teams took pictures of restaurants, groceries, street art and potential community clean-up sites. In the computer lab at the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield, groups uploaded their pictures onto the community map on the Garfield F.U.N. website – a health resource website run by the Garfield Health Department.

In addition to teaching GIS skills, this community asset mapping project also possessed a health component. Everyone in the group wore a pedometer to track the distance travelled and calories burned during their outing. Club youth and volunteers were excited to compare the number of steps taken by each individual and the amount of calories used. Club teens further gained a new perspective in viewing their hometown of Garfield. They took note of the wide variety of eateries and groceries of different cultures including Hispanic, Polish, and Asian. Club teens also documented potential community clean-up sites and discussed ways to beautify Garfield.

 Wansoo Im, adjunct faculty member at Rutgers University, worked with Nicole Mendoza, Education Coordinator at the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield, in organizing this event. Gina Ferrara, a senior in environmental planning and design at Rutgers University, coordinated the project and project website. Other volunteers included Calvin Tien, a GIS manager and research associate at Rutgers University, and Matthew Vitullo and Carl Figueiredo, GIS Specialists from New Jersey Highlands Council. These volunteers, along with Dr. Im, walked through Garfield with the Club teens. Darleen Reveille of the Garfield Health Department and Tony Furfaro of Garfield’s Department of Parks and Recreation were also on hand and helped to facilitate the project.

The goal of this project was to introduce youth to a wide range of uses and skills of community mapping and to enable Club members to experience something new while obtaining new skills. For more information on this project, please visit www.garfieldfun.org and/or www.garfieldcommunitymapping.wordpress.com.

Club members Nico McKinley (left) and Joshua Descena (right) walking through Garfield to survey local restaurants for community asset mapping.

Volunteer Calvin Tien helping Club members

Pawel Buczek (left) and Damian Luboch (right)

upload photos using the community asset

mapping application.

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Boys & Girls Club of Garfield Hires New Chief Executive Officer

Garfield, NJ – July 3, 2008 -–  The Board of Trustees of the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul J. Casey as the club’s new Chief Executive Officer. Boys & Girls Club of Garfield offers kids a safe place to learn and grow through programs and services that promote and enhance their development by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence. Part of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Garfield club was started in 1959 by several concerned citizens who were interested in empowering the children of their community. It is poised to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2009.

Doug Opirhory, President of the Board of Trustees sees Casey as instrumental in driving the club to greater success.  “We have hired, a seasoned, well-trained professional to lead this organization moving forward,” he says. “The boys and girls here will receive great benefit from Paul’s experience and leadership skills.” Casey, who was recently honored by the New Jersey Boys & Girls Club Professional Association as “Professional of the Year 2008,”  says  “I am thrilled to be in the City of Champions! This is a great time to have joined the organization and I look forward to celebrating both its history and developing its future.”

Casey has been with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Union County,  one of the largest Clubs in the state with facilities in Union, Plainfield, Elizabeth, Roselle Park and Roselle, since 2000. He served as Plainfield Club Director, was promoted to Director of Program Development  and then Director of Community Development and Alumni Affairs for all locations. Prior, he held the position of Center Director at the YMCA Beacon Center in Flushing, NY and Director of Youth Services at New Perspectives Development Corp in Brooklyn. A leader who combines strong interpersonal and communication skills with experience in strategic planning, resource and youth development, financial management and special event planning, he is  a dedicated, resourceful and responsive management professional in the field of human services with a proven track record of building and sustaining successful operations.

Casey received his Masters of Science in Human Service Administration from Springfield College and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Mercyhurst College.

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Connect with 2-1-1

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT 2-1-1? It's an easy to remember three-digit access for information about health and human services.  By dialing 2-1-1, you will be connected to a referral specialists who can provide you with information about a variety of services in your county.  From financial and emergency food assistance, to affordable housing and healthcare, employment and child care information and much more.  Calls are toll free and confidential.  For more information click on the following link www.firstcall.org

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Cards & Collectibles

All shows are held at the Boys & Girls Club from 9am to 3pm.  For more information see the Boys & Girls Club calendar,log onto www.cardscollectibles.com, or you can call (973)-340-2218.