Members of the Robert Williams Boys & Girls Club recently visited the New Richmond Fire & EMS Station 36 on Market Street, during the club’s Graduate program time.
The Graduate program is directed by Summer Tyler, the club’s Education Coordinator.
The program was designed to help students stay in school and graduate. Club members also get homework support and participate in activities that reinforce literacy skills.
One of her favorite parts of the program is bringing in members of the community with interesting jobs, to share details about their work. Tyler helps club members explore careers to plan for their futures. Many students will graduate and attend college, but many will go into technical fields, the military or a trade. She plans to highlight as many different career paths as possible.
Tyler arranged to have the club members visit the fire station. The children had practiced a fire drill and learned about fire safety. Younger members were read stories about what fire fighters do.
“The children today, are ultimately the ones who will be taking our places as we grow older,” said Vince Bee, Chief of the New Richmond Fire & EMS. “Why not open their minds to the careers that are out there at an early age and really get their minds thinking? One of these kids that visited us from the Boys and Girls Club could one day grow up to be a firefighter and make their way up the ranks to be a fire Chief.
During the visit the children saw a demonstration of a fire fighter putting on many layers of protective clothing before attaching the equipment that would help him breathe during a fire. The fire fighters also demonstrated the cutter’s and spreaders they use to help release people trapped inside their vehicles. The children were barely able to lift the equipment and understood how working with the tool over a long time would be difficult for the fire fighters.
Most club members agreed that the best part of the visit was being able to sit in the cab of Rescue Truck 36.
“Most of our students are too young to make career decisions now,” said Tyler. “So many new jobs have been created in the last ten years, that never existed before. My hope is that they might find a career that sparks an interest, and then leads them to explore the idea of what their future life might look like, and what it would take to get there.”
Children learn what educational requirements and skills are needed for each job. Adults in banking, the library and the police department have already discussed their careers with the children.
Tyler said, “We promote giving back to the community with our Ready to Serve program. I’d like to share more career paths where adults chose to solve community problems or provide services that help others.”
If you would like to share your career with club members, please contact the organization by phone.
The Boys & Girls Clubs’ mission is “To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens”.
The Club provides fun, enriching activities for children 5 to 18 years old. Membership is free and includes a daily snack and a hot meal.
The children participate in nationally recognized programs, Fit for Life, Ready to Serve and Graduate, that enhance their lives and expand their educational experience.
The Club’s hours are Monday through Thursday from 2:30-6:00 pm.
The Club is located at 213 Union Street, in the Village of New Richmond. For more information, contact the Club at 513-553-1948 or visit their website at bgcgc.org/join-the-club. Donations to the club can be made online at www.bgcgc.org/donate or mailed to 600 Dalton Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45203.