LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — This month's Vegas Stronger Champion keeps kids active, engaged, and safe in the summertime and after school as part of the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada.
Clubhouse director Lisa Yee has helped kids see bright futures for themselves since she started working for the Boys and Girls Club back in 2011. Her staff at the James Clubhouse in North Las Vegas keeps students busy each weekday all summer long.
The organization hopes to serve at least 1,300 kids at their 13 clubhouses around the Las Vegas valley this summer. A focus on academic success, healthy lifestyles, and developing character and leadership is the ultimate goal for children between five years old and 18 years old. It's not too late to enroll — the Boys and Girls Club encourages families to stop into one of their 13 clubhouses to learn more. Financial aid is available and the organization says they'll never turn a family away.
"What I do here is really rewarding. Even in just the short span of 12 weeks of summer, you'll see some kids come in and they're really shy," Yee told Channel 13. "They haven't been to a summer program before, but by the end of summer they're the most outgoing kids that you know. They're interested in everything that's going on, and they're the first ones to raise their hands and participate in programming."
Marketing director Jimmy Bearse explains the variety of activities at the clubhouses around the valley.
"They could be doing STEM projects, they could be in the computer lab learning how to program. We have 3D printers, we have game rooms that have Foosball, pool tables, ping pong. They could be outside playing sports; we have gymnasiums where they could learn basketball, soccer, or volleyball. So really, it's all about discovery at the clubhouse," he said.
For her long-standing commitment to keeping kids safe and inspiring bright futures, Findlay Automotive Group recognizes Lisa Yee as this month's Vegas Stronger Champion.
"We've selected you as our Vegas Stronger Champion for the great work you do here," Jeff Giles of Findlay Automotive Group said as he presented Yee with a check for $599.
"It's such an important thing for the community and for the kids that come here, and from what I'm told you've just been a rock star here for so long, and put in many years and built such a relationship and rapport with so many kids."
