Club to celebrate 100 years of service

Date: 2/15/2012

Feb. 15, 2012

By G. Michael Dobbs

news@thereminder.com

CHICOPEE — In 1912, the Chicopee Boys & Girls Club first opened its doors and this year the club will be celebrating its centennial with a number of activities.

Board President Earl LaFlamme III, State Sen. Michael Knapik and club Executive Director Elizabeth Daly spoke at a press conference announcing the year of recognition on Feb. 7.

LaFlamme noted that the Chicopee Boys Club, as is was first known, started at a location on Dwight Street with about 100 boys. Several years later the club moved to a former school building on Royal Street.

Known for its basketball programs, the club was made part of the National Boys Clubs of America in 1952, he explained. In 1988, the name of the organization changed to the Chicopee Boys &Girls Club Inc.

LaFlamme noted how the club has evolved from having an emphasis on athletic programs for youth to one that features an after-school program, a drop-in teen center and a computer center.

The features of the club are available to Chicopee youth for an annual membership fee of $25, which he said was made possible through the generosity of the community.

According to statistics supplied by the club, the current membership is 696 youths with another 5,683 young people served by the club's programs.

The average daily attendance at the club is 227 children.

Knapik, who said he was member of the Westfield Boys & Girls Club and that his children are members of that club as well, spoke to the vibrancy of the Chicopee club.

Centennial events scheduled so far include:

• The George Webb Memorial Basketball Tournament from March 6 to 17 at the club.

• An Alumni Night at 6 p.m. on April 19 at which all former members of the club will be invited back to it to purchase life membership cards and enjoy performances by current members.

• A "100 Pints for 100 Years" blood drive will be conducted from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 15 at the club.

• A semi-formal dinner will be presented at the Westover Air Reserve Base on June 9 starting at 6 p.m.

• The club will sponsor a community barbeque on Aug. 11.

For more information on the club and its activities, log onto www.bgcchicopee.org .