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Anticipated changes for adults in the Douglass Community
By Kim Williams, kwilliams@acnpapers.com
Negotiations between the city of Plano and Boys and Girls Club of Collin County are in the works, and residents of the Douglass Community are not happy about possible changes.
The BGCCC moved into the Douglass Community Center in 1997. The club pays 17.5 percent of the maintenance cost which is usually around $20,000 per year in exchange for use of the property.
When the city approached BGCCC last fall in search of a solution to the declining budget, “They were ready to jump in and help any way they could,” said Amy Fortenberry, director of parks and recreation, about the BGCCC.
Programs included are a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, Valentine’s Day dance, a “senior” prom and Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. In addition to these annual events, the seniors also take one large trip each year out of the country and one or two smaller trips out of state.
Next week the senior group will be in the Dominican Republic. The group has traveled to Jamaica, Bahamas, Cozumel and Cancun with an Alaskan cruise as last year’s adventure.
If the negotiations result in the BGCCC taking over operations of the center, the seniors in the community will no longer have a dedicated recreation coordinator.
“We will lose our center, activities, and director,” Douglass Community resident, Dorothy Ellis said. This is a fear that many residents share with Ellis, and Tanya Greene, CEO of the BGCCC, is working on possible solutions to this problem with Fortenberry to hopefully make a peaceful transition if the change of operations is approved.
“The center will continue to be available to the seniors for meetings and activities just as they have always done,” Greene said.
“They will have full use of the senior center which is less than a mile away,” Fortenberry said. But for some cases, finding a way to the center will be difficult for seniors since transportation was cut from city services. Douglass seniors will be able to continue to plan activities on their own after the change, and with the contributions and efforts of the area churches, they will have direction and coordination for the events.
“Hopefully the Douglass seniors will want to participate in activities at the senior center and visa versa,” Fortenberry said. The senior center offers a wide variety of classes, trips and special events year-round including off-site activities such as bowling and golf.
The BGCCC has been working hard to bring in positive programs which will benefit all community members. The club is known for its efforts in reaching out to children, but they have also introduced some adult programs recently which will benefit all adults, especially those in the Douglass Community.
Through a partnership with Plano Independent School District, proposed adult programs at the center will include adult literacy, adult computer literacy, career training, resume building, parenting classes, adult ESL Classes, college preparation, financial aid preparation, building relationships with educators and access to PISD Computer Portals which will provide greater resources.
Current BGCCC programs for adults which can be utilized by senior adults also are comprehensive, similar to the programs for children.
Family Matters is a program designed to promote health and wellness for the entire family. Adults learn how to spend quality time with their family and lead healthier lifestyles. Free educational seminars and workshops include cooking healthy meals, healthy shopping techniques, fitness on a budget, and many other topics.
Family Plus provides effective strategies and best practices for reaching, supporting and empowering families to participate fully in their children’s lives.
Kinship Care includes providing knowledge and resources to extended family members who have assumed the role of primary caregiver.
Father Involvement provides support and promotion through programs, activities, training and services to help increase the positive involvement of fathers in the lives of their children.
Economic Opportunity focuses on empowering families, the economic opportunity program helps families find and keep jobs, increase earnings, build savings and establish credit. Seminars and workshops include topics such as buying a home, saving for college, financial aid, retirement, medical savings plans, identifying community resources, and many more.
Family Outreach Strategies builds the capacity of the club to effectively recruit and retain the involvement of new populations of diverse parents and caregivers who are often underserved in the community.
Family Advocacy Network Club is a scientifically proven program of support for parents and caregivers of BGC members who are participating in SMART Moves drug, alcohol and tobacco prevention and resistance programs.
Across the Generations Mentoring is a program where senior citizens provide mentoring to BGCCC members through story time, sharing meals, and homework help.
A Generation of Understanding involves seminars and small group projects designed to bridge the gap of understanding between seniors and teens.
M.A.G.I.C.C, Mothers Acquiring General Information Concerning Cancer, is a cancer awareness forum for women, including free mammograms.
Taking Care of Our Fathers promotes prostate awareness forum for men that provides educational information, discussions, and medical check-ups. Doctors and prostate cancer survivors answer questions. Upon completion of the forum, participants receive a free prostate screening.
Community annual health fairs are provided for members of the community and they receive free blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol testing. A community blood drive is held at the fair. Partnerships with local medical facilities provide information on health, community resources, and health insurance.
Project College provides parents of juniors and seniors with hands-on, practical guidance through the college application and financial aid process.
BGCCC Emergency Food Pantry is open to adults who need emergency food to support their families until they can access a food bank.
The proposed agreement is expected to be discussed July 26th at the city council meeting. Even though negotiations are continuing between the city and the BGCCC, the center is expected to have services increased overall in the Douglass Community if approved.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
luisjustin02 wrote on Jul 2, 2010 5:32 AM:
" Health care (transformation) is one of the best issues this current administration has done thus far. With this change individuals will have the opportunity to seek professional and quality health care services. Who would want to return to the days of the horse and buggy, b/w tv sets, manual typewriters, pac man, you get the point? That's about how old the health care system was in the USA. Each day the news is filled with social tragedies in which lives are taken at the hands of known acquaintences and/or family members. Our society is stricken with the institutions of white collar crime permeating throughout this great nation and greed which tends to strike at the very fabric of our country. If you are looking for affordable health insurance check out http://bit.ly/9sfoMb I hope everyone will soon recognize and use the resources made by this transformation to seek professional medical attention as the need arises rather than turning to illegal and criminal activities to resolve their issues. "
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