Boys Team motivates teens to get hands-on with charitable work
Boys Team members gather together during their kick-off community service project doing yard clean-up and maintenance for Families First.
Article by Elean Gersack; photos courtesy of Boys Team Charity
Boys around town are rolling-up their sleeves and digging in to help others as part of the new Mile High chapter of Boys Team Charity (Boys Team). Lesley Gibson, Oak Hills resident, is co-president and co-founder of the new chapter that began on November 1 and already has 63 seventh through twelfth grade families taking part.
Gibson, a mother of four, discovered that finding programs to instill responsibility and leadership in boys is more challenging than it is for girls. “Girls have so many leadership opportunities; we want to show boys ways in which we can give back to the community,” said Gibson.
The Boys Team board works with a variety of local philanthropic organizations and plans service outings each month. Members can sign up via an online calendar to take part in the outings that work with their schedule. Each member is required to contribute a specified number of hours of service each year depending upon age (15 hours for 7th through 9th graders; 10 hours for 10th through 12th graders) as well as attend six hours of team building meetings annually. Service hours can be applied to high school graduation requirements.
Boys Team philanthropic partners currently include Families First, Denver Rescue Mission, Ronald McDonald House, and Food Bank of the Rockies. Team building sessions include topics like personal fitness and nutrition.
One or both parents take part with their son at each outing so it truly becomes a family affair. In addition to family togetherness, building friendships and working together as a team are other important take-aways for members.
“It’s nice for boys to do community service together with friends,” said Karin Miller, mother of two participating boys.
Boys Team will accept registrations for the next year (May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014) from April 1 to April 15. There is a one-time family registration fee of $50 and an annual fee of $125 for one son and both parents (with an additional $50 for each participating sibling).
For additional information or to register, visit www.boysteamcharity.org, click on “leagues” and then on “Mile-High Chapter.”
