Annual Backyard BBQ Bash raises funds for club

By JUSTIN DENNIS

jdennis@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Over the summer, Germaine McAlpine was proud to hear youngsters taking personal ownership of the Boys and Girls Club of Youngstown — “this is my club,” he heard them say.

During its third annual Backyard BBQ Bash fundraiser Friday at the Oak Hill Avenue club, members showed off “their club” to supporters.

“When they’re walking around here and they’re proud of ‘their’ club … they’re trying to give [visitors] a tour and introduce themselves — that shows me they really appreciate it,” said McAlpine, the club’s executive director.

More than 20 local sponsors donated $21,500 and put up prizes for the Friday fundraiser’s basket raffle. Shaker’s Bar and Grill of Girard catered. Soul-funk outfit Howard Howell and The Point 5 Band jammed beneath a pointed tent on the club’s back green. Partygoers played large-sized lawn versions of Jenga and Connect Four.

McAlpine said last year’s Bash hosted about 150 guests, but he expected closer to 250 people for this year’s outing. Tickets were $25 each.

“This is an exposure thing. Some people don’t even know we have this gym right here on the South Side,” he said. “Some people have never set foot in here until today. This is a chance to show them a day in the life of a club member.”

The club offers athletics, educational programming, meals and mentorship to the more than 100 area youngsters who visit daily, some of whom spend much of their summer there, McAlpine said. The club serves more than 1,000 youths each year, he said.

“This is like their second home,” McAlpine said. “They’ve grown relationships with some of our staff. It’s kind of crazy — they will tell us things they won’t tell a teacher. … It’s a safe haven, for sure.”

Domingo Ruiz, 15, a four-year member, said he likes to hit the club’s indoor basketball court or its back green for football, but also makes good use of the club’s homework tutors.

For 15-year-old Elijah Mitchell and 18-year-old Demare McPherson, who stood three-abreast with Ruiz while volunteering for Friday’s Bash, the club is a place where they can be themselves, they said.

“They make me feel like family,” McPherson said. “They’ve helped me through a lot of stuff. … From Elijah to Domingo — we’re all pretty close here. This has been a real big part of my life.”

Mitchell, who’s been coming to the club for two years, said he’s normally an introvert at school, but club camaraderie helps him come out of his shell.

“I feel like I’m more a part of here than I am at school,” he said. “At school, I feel more average. Here I feel more … more than average.”

McAlpine said Friday’s visitors got to see the club’s newly renovated kitchen and dining areas, funded through a $50,000 grant since last year’s Bash.

McAlpine earlier this year showed off concepts for nearly $1 million in improvements to the club through 2021, including athletic fields and courts, outdoor play areas and other green space across the club property along Market Street, between the intersections of Glenaven and Chicago avenues. The project would also expand parking.

A $500,000 state grant will cover about half the total cost.

McAlpine said the club is still working to finalize the expansion plan.

“We’re still in the funding phases of it so we’re still getting some numbers finalized,” he said. “It’s a huge project.”

Regular club volunteer Michelle Sizemore of Boardman, whose son and two daughters have been club members for three years, said the club’s offerings are exactly the type of enrichment she wanted for them — something educational, “not just fun” that would stick with them for life.

“They make such an impact on the young children — especially my three children. I’ve seen such a change in them since they’ve started,” she said. “This is a place I want them to look back and say, ‘The Boys and Girls Club had an impact on my life.’”