Boys & Girls Club Slates a Celebration

The Oxnard Boys & Girls Club will celebrate National Boys & Girls Club Week, April 23-29, with an essay contest, an alumni basketball game, a luncheon with the city’s Kiwanis Club and a five-mile walkathon.

McDonald’s will hand out 12,000 flyers at five Oxnard sites to promote the weeklong events.

The theme of the essay contest is “What the Club Means to Me.” Students should pick up the essay forms on April 24. Essays are due April 27, and the winners will be announced at a barbecue April 30.

The first alumni basketball game will pit alumni from the 1950s against classes from the 1960s, and alumni from the 1970s versus the 1980s. The game is set for 7 p.m. at the club’s headquarters on 126 E. 7th St. in Oxnard.

On April 26, the club will host three open houses to encourage people to join or volunteer for the club. They will be at the Lemonwood School and the Driffill School from 3 to 5 p.m. and at the headquarters from 5:50 to 7:30 p.m.

The club will host a luncheon April 27 with the Kiwanis Club, one of its sponsors, at noon. On April 28, the youths who take part in the Boys & Girls Club will be allowed to run the club for a day, electing their own executive directors and branch directors.

The week will culminate with the walkathon and barbecue. The club is asking people to sponsor walkers for the five miles at $1 per mile, $2 per mile or a flat rate. The event begins at 10 a.m. at Oxnard’s Centerpoint Mall on Saviers Road. The barbecue will be at the club’s headquarters.