Hey there alumni of “The Bay”!!
We miss you and we want to hear from you. There
are many thousands of you and not enough of you
are in touch with us. And that’s not your
fault. We haven’t reached out to you often
enough or loudly enough. That changes now.
To get started, please tell us how Kips Bay
Boys & Girls Club impacted your life by taking
a very brief Alumni Survey. Doing this helps
us by providing data that we can share with our
donors. It is completely confidential and we
won’t give your contact information to
anyone else. We’ll need just about ten
minutes of your time. So won’t you click
here now and take the Alumni Survey. Be sure
to give your name and address on the survey so
we can send you a T-Shirt (see next paragraph).
We are also planning to host our first annual Alumni Homecoming Day & Barbecue
sometime in June. To make sure we let you know when we have a date, you’ll
need to give us your contact information. Of course we’ll also send you
other up-dates from time to time so that you know what is happening at your Club.
We also want to thank you for taking the time to complete the survey by sending
you an Alumni T-Shirt. Please click
here to give us your contact information,
including shirt size.
Thank you so much |
Former NBA Player/Assistant Basketball Coach, Villanova
University
Born in 1963, Ed Pinckney grew up in the Bronx, N.Y.,
and attended the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, because,
he recalls, he wanted to avoid playing basketball outdoors
during the cold winters there. After honing his skills
at the Club, Pinckney was accepted at Villanova University
and became one of the finest basketball players in
the school's history. During his time there, the Wildcats
captured the university's only NCAA championship title.
A number one draft choice of the Phoenix Suns in 1985,
Pinckney spent 12 years in the National Basketball
Association. Following his retirement in 1997, Pinckney
joined the Miami Heat organization as part of its broadcasting
team. Coming full circle, he returned to Villanova
in 2003 as an assistant basketball coach. Reflecting
on his Club experience, Pinckney says, "The Club
helped us establish a fantastic foundation in athletics.
It was just an incredible experience for me and my
family."
Actor/Singer
This megastar credits the Kips Bay Boys & Girls
Club in the Bronx, N.Y., with helping her get started
in the entertainment industry. It was at the Club that
Lopez honed her skills as a performer. "The staff
recognized a spark of performing potential in me, and
brought that spark alive," she says. "Soon
I was singing and dancing in regular Club performances
and before long was part of the Club's traveling troupe." After
getting her start as a dancer on the TV show In Living
Color, Lopez landed the title role in the feature film
Selena, which officially launched her into superstardom.
She has since starred in dozens of feature films, while
at the same time managing her award-winning singing
career. Today, she is known as one of the nation's
top female performers. "I can honestly say I don't
know where I'd be today without the Club," says
Lopez. "Thanks to Boys & Girls Clubs from
the bottom of my heart, for all you have done for me,
and for so many others."
Boys & Girls Club Professional
Ten-year-old Danny Quintero walked into Kips Bay Boys & Girls
Club in 1970 and, truly, never left the Movement. At “The
Bay” he began a life long love of baseball that
led to a stint in professional baseball, followed by
a return to Boys & Girls Clubs, first at Madison
Square Boys & Girls Club, followed by the Northeast
Regional Office. In December 1996 Dan returned to Kips
Bay, the first Bronx native and first alumnus to lead
the organization. His tenure has been characterized
by sustained growth, in membership, venues of service,
and program innovation. From a 1996 membership of 5,559
and 4 sites, Kips Bay grew, by the end of FY06, to
12,910 members at 10 sites, including new service delivery
at two homeless shelters and two public housing projects.
Program innovation includes teen entrepreneurial project
learning, and obesity prevention, funded, in part,
through Kips Bays’ first federal grant through
Congressman Crowley. In 2002 the Frederic R. Coudert
Sports Complex was constructed on the Palmaro Clubhouse
grounds. Construction of an 11th service venue, our
future West Bronx Clubhouse, is expected to begin in
the fall of 2007. Championed by Bronx Borough President
Carrion, the future Clubhouse will be a state-of-the-art
e-technology youth development facility.
Actress
The wonderful young actress who gave such a strong
and dignified portrayal of Ray Charles’ beleaguered
wife in the movie “Ray”, was a club member
at Kips Bay in the early 90’s. Ms. Washington
demonstrates, brilliantly, the capacity of our arts
program to help launch youngsters of real talent and
commitment to impressive careers.
In truth, we were not aware of Kerry until she began,
most graciously, to mention us in the media. Ms. Washington
was in the dance program, but not the more visible
K-Company. Still, our dance program, with its professional
instruction leading to the impressive annual recital
that we call “Broadway Babies”, was a powerful
boost to the youthful artist. In 2005 she e-emailed
us from Africa—where she was filming—to
express her appreciation for the experience she had
here. In 2007 Kerry served a Co-Chair of our 25th Anniversary
Celebration of the Performing Arts at Kips Bay. While
her busy filming schedule kept her from attending the
event, she made a video for the occasion. Her parents
did attend to accept our award in recognition of her
many accomplishments and as a spotless role model for
young people.
Scientist/Entrepreneur/Businessman
Manny Villafaņa attended Kips Bay’s last Manhattan
Clubhouse on East 52nd Street. He traveled there from
his home in the Bronx. Desperately poor, his father
died when he was 10, and his mothers sewed garments
in a sweat shop. Despite these obstacles, Manny went
on to found six publicly held companies that developed
and manufactured pacemakers and heart valves.
A very generous donor to Kips Bay, Mr. Villafaņa
retains a life long gratitude for his Kips Bay experience.
He expressed it this way in a 1969 letter:
It was just yesterday that I was commenting with a
friend of mine
on my early years in your Boys’ Club… I
told him that a Boys’
Club was made up of men, of men who would build the
character
in the boys…of men trying to be fathers for
those, like myself, who
did not have a father…
I told him that a Boys’ Club was a summer of
fun…I told him that
a Boys’ Club meant learning new skills at camp…I
told him that
a Boys’ Club was a molder of youth… |
