Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens is excited to announce that we were awarded a $50,000 Love Takes Action grant by the New York Life Foundation, thanks to a designation by Jaime-Faye Bean! Bean is the executive director of Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District and co-founder of Queens Together and she secured the grant for the youth center after being named one of 35 individuals across the nation as “Love Takes Action” awardees.
Read more here!
National burger chain, Bareburger, announced a new burger in partnership with Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens.
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“Partnering with the Boys and Girls Club in our hometown of Astoria, the neighborhood in which Bareburger was born, is a no-brainer. In our newest collaboration, Bareburger x VBGCQ brings you a custom-made burger that we have dubbed ‘The Variety Burger’. Bareburger Culinary Director, Chef Lemon created this vegetarian beauty. On a vrioche (vegan brioche) bun delicately smeared with garlic aioli, we have stacked a sweet potato patty, tempeh bacon, tomato, red onion, alfalfa sprouts and pickled jalapeños. A quick drizzle of sriracha honey dressing finishes this baby off. For each Variety Burger you buy (a worthwhile $13.95), we’ll donate a dollar to the VBGCQ.”
Read more here!
Over 100 volunteers from JetBlue’s Finance Team and the JetBlue Foundation came to Variety Boys & Girls Club on Friday, September 20th to beautify the Club! They painted the lobby and the main hallway downstairs and bright shade of blue and added new plants to the living wall in the Club’s lobby.
JetBlue’s CFO Steve Priest and the President of the JetBlue Foundation Ursula Hurley joined in the fun as well.
Thank you so much, JetBlue for brightening up our space just in time for the start of the school year! Check out the gallery below for before, during, and after pictures.
Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens alumni and actress talks about her time on the hit show Euphoria and growing as a model and actress over the years. Barbie grew up coming to Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens. She began doing theater at the Club at age 7 and by age 10 she knew she wanted to be an actress. Everyone at Variety is so excited for Barbie’s continued success and we can’t wait to see what she does next!!
Read more about Barbie and her career here!
Over a dozen teenagers came to the newly opened Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens Teen Center last Friday for a Pizza and Paint Night! Following along with a video online, each teen painted a sunset landscape while chowing down on pizza. We have so many talented artists in our midst!
Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens was excited to soft-launch the Teen Center this summer and we can’t wait to officially open our doors at the start of the school year! Visit bgcqueens.org/teencenter for more information and to learn how to sign up for the program!
On Friday June 14th, VBGCQ’s young artists showed off their creations in the first Art Gallery Show. Paintings, drawings, and pastel art were features on the walls of the black box studio while African inspired drums and other sculptures were displayed on tables.
Families and friends sipped on juice and ate hors d’ouervres prepared by the Cooking Club while watching live spoken word art by local artists, drawing demonstrations by Art Club members, and viewing the artwork on display.
During the 2018-2019 school year, VBGCQ focused its afterschool arts program on multicultural visual arts inspired by artists and artistic genres from around the world
Queens Salah M. Hassanein, Founder and longtime Board Member of Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens passed away on Friday June 7th at age 98.
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“Salah M. Hassanein, the former president of Warner Bros. International Theaters who was a tireless philanthropist in Hollywood, died Friday at his home in Del Mar, California, his family announced. He was 98. He served for many years as a member of the board of the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens (renamed the Salah M. Hassanein Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens in his honor) and was board chairman and president of Variety International. He also was president and honorary chairman of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation and instrumental in creating the Will Rogers Institute on the grounds of Burke Rehabilitation Hospital after the closure of the Will Rogers Hospital in 1975. The Pioneers Assistance Fund's Salah Hassanein Medical Grant provides temporary financial aid for film industry members in need.”
Read more here
A profile on Renée Edwards, long time volunteer at the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens.
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“What with her degree and interest in youngsters, it was inevitable that Renée would opt for a career that kept her close to them. For 31 years, she has worked for the New York City Department of Education’s LYFE program, which provides child care for student parents. A para, she’s stationed at Long Island City High School. “I’m responsible for four infants whose ages are two months to 12 months,” she says, proudly calling up their photos on her smartphone and cooing. When she gets off from work, Renée starts her volunteer duties. She heads over to the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens in Long Island City, where she teaches sewing, knitting and crocheting a couple of times a week.”
Read more here!
A huge congratulations is in order for the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens Youth of the Year - Christopher Samuel! Chris is 18 years old and has been a part of the Variety Boys & Girls Club for the last decade. Over these last ten years, we've seen him develop into a young man who navigates through the many obstacles young men of color so often face through listening, communicating and leading. Chris has credited our organization's mentorship program "Passport-to-Manhood" as a factor that contributed to his immense growth over the years. After realizing that the program began to garner less attention at the Club, he took initiative and provided his passion and insight to help revamp the program, which is now called "BroCode." Chris also dedicates his time to tutor youth and teach them about living a healthy and active lifestyle. Aside from his involvement at the Club, Chris is also a part of his class' Student Government, a member of the Honors Society, and a leader in his Class Council. Chris hopes to have a career in the field of Public Services.
The Young Professionals Committee (YPC) at Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens has grown! In recent months, the YPC has added four new members to the Committee:
Andrea Bischof | Vice President, Institutional Equity Sales - China International Capital Corporation
Katherine Cote | Associate Director - UBS Investment Bank
Russell McAleavey | Vice President, Assistant General Counsel - J.P. Morgan Asset Management
John Reinhardt | Associate - Sam Schwartz Consulting
The YPC supports VBGCQ philanthropically through fundraising events and by creating connections to potential corporate partners. YPC members also support programming at the Club by teaching engineering classes, hosting Career Day events, and more!
VBGCQ is excited to welcome Andrea, Katherine, Russell, and John to the YPC!
On Saturday May 4th, Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens hosted our Second Annual 3V3 Basketball Tournament with Edward Jones as the Title Sponsor. The event raised more than $7,000 to support the after-school, summer camp, weekend workshops, and sports teams at the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens!
Thank you to all of the players and fans who came out to Queens on Saturday morning! And congratulations to the team from Edward Jones who took home first place in our double-elimination bracket!
VBGCQ and Titan Theatre Company are excited to announce a new, expanded partnership! Designed to address the growing need for affordable rehearsal and performance space in Queens, our original partnership has blossomed into a massive education and outreach initiative! “A partnership such as this, with an incredible organization like the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens, isn’t only an opportunity to help and support the wonderful theatre community here in our home borough, but is also a way to provide even more arts education and outreach programming to the community that continues to support us and our work in such an amazing way” said Titan Artistic Director Lenny Banovez. We at the Club looking forward to providing more opportunities to our beloved Queens communities, starting with a Shakespeare performance for our after school kids on Wednesday, May 15th!
Michaels and Boys & Girls Clubs of America have teamed up to refresh art rooms at 10 lucky Boys & Girls Clubs across the country…and Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens was selected!
Through Michaels generosity we will be able to repaint, get all new furniture, and tons of new art supplies! With these upgrades, our kids and teens will be able to unleash their inner maker on their path to a great future! #MAKESpace19
We can’t wait to see the amazing art work our young artists can create in the new space!
Check out the pictures below for “before” images of the art room!
During the 2018-2019 school year VBGCQ partnered with multiple organizations to run STEM programming for over 500 youth across four after school sites!
Samsung’s DIY STEM program is running at the VBGCQ - Main Club location for the budding scientists and engineers in the middle school program.
BioBus is teaching the Tool Time program at all four locations educating youth about different scientific tools and taking “field trips” to the neighborhoods around each location to perform experiments!
Hofstra University’s Wise Guys and Gals program offers design thinking and engineering challenges to the middle schoolers at the VBGCQ - Main Club including building a functioning prosthesis and creating a website.
Thank you to our partners and our amazing STEM Specialists for helping our kids develop their science skills and learn to love STEM!
Sincerest thanks to Amazon employees for spending an afternoon mentoring our Club’s middle school children. From getting an inside look at the office and spending quality time with software engineers, advertisers and managers, our students were able to ask their wildest questions and receive expert advice on their future path.
Employees of CreditSights spent the afternoon in LEVEL 12’s Ultimate Bike Build Team Building Program all to surprise Club kids with brand new bikes! The students loved test driving their new wheels and zoomed around the office trying them out!
Thank you LEVEL 12 for the brand new bikes, helmets and safety locks!
On Friday, December 21st, the Club was thrilled to present our Annual Holiday Celebration in the Broccoli Theatre. Surrounded by an audience of friends and family members, students performed adaptations of Ugly Duckling, Where the Wild Things Are and their original play, Who Kidnapped Santa. The Media Club debuted their film, A Christmas Wish and the Dance Group revamped the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” incorporating ballet and dub step. In the back of theatre, the Cooking Club hosted a bake sale with cookies, brownies and cakes that received rave reviews by all! Lastly, the students participated in the Variety Idol Competition where each grade sang Christmas carols and the audience voted on the winner. This year, we are thrilled to share that the 5th Graders were the official winners of the competition! The show closed with remarks from Council Member Costa Constantinides and a giant bow from all the children.
After the performance, staff members handed out personalized gifts to over 150 children. Our sincerest thanks to Marshalls, ADP, Steve Madden & Microsoft employees who donated the gifts and to the group of ADP employees who volunteered their time wrapping gifts, making holiday cards with the students and playing a game of basketball.
The Club is proud of all we have been able to accomplish this year thanks to the support of our incredible community. We are wishing you all Happy Holidays and an amazing New Year!
Many thanks to everyone who came out to root for their favorite team at our annual 3v3 Corporate Challenge! The event raised more than $8,500 for Club programs that serve over 4,000 children each year.
This year, over 10 teams competed for the championship with Heroes pulling through as the tournament winner and NY Mets as the 2nd runner-up! Thanks to Lime, Super Soccer Stars, Red Rabbit, Edward Jones, Chip NYC & NY Life for playing their all and assembling your best talent! The event included free cookies from ChipNYC, scooter and bike demos from Lime, and a silent auction with prizes generously donated by JetBlue and Aloft Hotels.
Special thanks to former Jets Fullback, Tony Richardson for playing in the tournament and to our event sponsors NY Mets Foundation, Pharmapacks, Super Soccer Stars, Lime and Phenom. The 3v3 was presented by the Young Professionals Council, a group of change makers dedicated to building bright futures for children in Queens.
Halloween at the Club was full of sweets and spooky adventure! With the artistic flair of volunteers from Ophelia Theatre Group, we created an unforgettable haunted house as part of our Halloween celebration. Take a look at our collection of photos to see creative costumes and all of our Halloween fun!
A resounding thanks to the 20 volunteers from JPMorgan Chase & Company for supporting the academic achievement of our students and promoting STEM exposure! We appreciate the time, energy and effort you devoted to the Club.
During the service day, each student was paired with a volunteer to complete homework after which, the groups explored cooking, hydroponic planting, stop motion animation and the MaKey MaKey invention kit. Special thanks to Break A Difference, who made this incredible event possible!!
