43
Students awarded bikes for achievement at Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown
Photo
Brothers Joshua, 7, left, and Anthony Dees, 8, check out the bicycles they were given at the Boys and Girls Club of Youngstown Wednesday. The bikes were provided by a Girard couple who wished to remain anonymous.
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
As the 2013-14 school year rolled along, 15-year-old Ray Dees’ grades climbed from C’s in math and world history to A’s.
As a result, he found himself rolling along — on a new 24-inch mountain bike.
“It feels great,” the Liberty High School student said after taking home the sporty bicycle.
Ray was among the estimated 35 elementary-, middle- and high-school students who were given bicycles of many sizes, colors and designs Wednesday at the Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown, 2105 Oak Hill Ave., on the South Side.
The youngsters were rewarded for having improved their grades in at least two academic subjects, attending schoolwork sessions at the club a minimum of three days a week and turning in their report cards to the club on time.
All are in the club’s Grade to Greatness academic program, noted Ruthie King, executive director.
The effort is to encourage participants to take advantage of schoolwork assistance and improve their grades, King explained.
Ray said he’s pleased that C’s turned into B’s, then A’s during the last school year.
He added that his favorite subjects are English and history and that he hopes to be a basketball player or a graphic designer.
Receiving free bicycles also seems to run in the family.
Ray’s younger brothers, Joshua Dees, 7, and Anthony Dees, 8, also were awarded for their academic improvements at E.J. Blott Elementary School in Liberty Township, something that makes their mother, Aly Dees, quite pleased.
“They all improved their report cards, and I think it’s a great program,” she said. “I’m very happy and thankful.”
Dees explained that she also has worked with her sons to enhance their study habits and continually reinforces the value of education, which includes reducing the amount of time they spend playing Xbox video games.
They also talk more with one another, she continued.
It didn’t take the children long to try out their new prizes.
Among those who rode around the gym was 11-year-old Aija Clarett, a Rayen Early College sixth-grader who took pride in her multicolored 20-inch bicycle with a brightly striped seat.
Last year, the Grades to Greatness program had about 75 youngsters, about half of whom fulfilled the requirements, King noted.
In addition, she said, their rewards have included a day at Cedar Point near Sandusky as well as tickets to see a Cleveland Cavaliers and a Cleveland Indians game.
The bicycles were donated by a Girard couple who wished to remain anonymous. Toys “R” Us delivered the items.