METS’ CARLOS DELGADO DONATES $25,000 The New York Mets’ slugging first baseman Carlos Delgado (pictured left with Dan Quintero and four young Club Members), presented a check for $25,000 to Kips Bay during a September 22nd ceremony in Shea Stadium. The gift is from Extra Bases, the charity that Mr. Delgado founded in his native Puerto Rico in 2001. Delgado made his first visit to Kips Bay on September 20th, deciding almost immediately to make a gift. The next day Mr. Delgado called Dan Quintero with the good news. We are deeply grateful to Mr. Delgado, who has also agreed to visit again after the playoffs and speak with Club members. THANKS CARLOS! Your team plays in Queens, and you have a lot of enthusiastic fans in the Bronx.
	ANNOUNCING THE FREDERIC R. COUDERT SPORTS COMPLEX On October 29, 2002, our air-supported dome was inaugurated, completing our new sports complex. Earlier in the year, the complex’s self-irrigating baseball field, basketball court and ice rink were opened for our youngsters. Both the ice rink and basketball court are covered with a canopy housing sound and lighting systems, creating a unique all-weather facility for youth programming. The entire 2.2 million dollar cost of the sports complex was raised from private resources. “A state-of-the-art sports facility like this is just what we need to attract kids to Kips Bay and keep them coming back,” says Fritz Coudert, President of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. An exceptional feature of the new complex is an ice-skating rink — the only one in the Bronx — which offers our kids lessons in figure skating and hockey, as well as recreational ice-skating in the winter and roller-skating in other seasons. When the ice rink was inaugurated on March 14, 2002, it was a real cause for celebration. To break the ice, we invited figure skating and hockey stars Rod Gilbert, Jo Jo Starbuck and Kristina Stone-Cruz to the opening ceremonies.
	PLANS FOR A WEST BRONX CLUBHOUSE: EXTENDING OUR REACH TO WHERE THE NEED IS GREATEST Only about one-tenth of the children and youth in Bronx’s Community Board 5 have a place to go after school where they can study, relax and have fun with other kids in a safe environment. That’s why we’ve chosen to launch our second clubhouse there, in the former Hebrew Institute Yeshiva at 1835 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Our $8 million renovation of the five-story building began in the fall of 2003. When the Clubhouse opens in 2005, we expect to serve 1,500 youth there, and we project this number will rise to 4,000 within five years. The new facility will offer the same comprehensive and wide-ranging programs as our current clubhouse, for children ages six to eighteen. We also plan to provide a daycare program, and in cooperation with the Morris Heights Health Center, a health care program tailored to the needs of our members and their families. From one clubhouse in 1969, the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club has grown to include six satellite locations and our future West Bronx Clubhouse. We’re proud to serve 9,000 children today, and when the new facility is completed, we look forward to that number’s rise to 10,500.
	SMILE SHOPPE OPEN FOR BUSINESS SOON Crest spokesperson Vanessa Williams was on-hand to cut the ribbon at the Crest Smile Shoppe, a dental clinic that will open on-site in our Clubhouse in the fall of 2004, offering low-cost dental services such as screenings, cleanings and sealants to club members and their siblings. "It's nice that Crest can give back to the Bronx community and provide dental services for kids that don't have that option," said Williams. Speaking of screenings, it was also an occasion for club members to view 'A New Smile in Town,' a film based on Kips Bay's award-winning entry in a Crest-sponsored screenwriting test.