It’s been quite a year for Rochester Better Chance, with lots of change.
Tom and Denise Moodytook over as the new "parents" at the RBC home on Second Street. Also, last summer saw major improvements to the house, with 42 windows replaced and more than 100 volunteers doing fix-up projects.
Rochester Better Chance is one of the best "feel good" programs in Rochester, providing bright and aspiring minority candidates with a mentoring and nurturing home environment. These young men move to Rochester from their hometowns where their peers, neighborhoods and lack of opportunity keep them from obtaining a good education. I asked volunteer Sandy Haydonwhy she is involved with Better Chance.
"When I retired from IBM, I had some co-workers ask me to join the RBC board," she said. "Also, my son knew several of the RBC scholars when he attended John Marshall (High School), so I knew this was a worthy organization to invest in."
Sandy is one of the volunteers helping with Dance for A Better Chance, which will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday. It’s a 24-hour dance-a-thon at Fred Astaire Dance Studio where the instructors will be offering private or group lessons from novice to expert. The dance-a-thon is made up of 40-minute lessons totaling 24 hours. Any time of day will do! Private lessons are $75 and group lessons are $10 per person.
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Lessons need to be reserved in advance at 282-9811 or www.rochesterbetterchance.org
Auction success helps local programs
Working a silent auction is an art form that, when mastered, is a thing of beauty. The folks who can whip up the baskets of items, the bid sheets that maximize bids or the bidder who can swoop in at the end to "steal" an item all contribute to big returns for the charity hosting the auction. This past winter, the folks at the Rochester Amateur Sports Commissionhosted the annual sports banquet with a very successful silent auction and because of that, the Rochester Boys & Girls Clubjust received a pretty big check.
The sports banquet committee then donates money generated by the silent auction to a local non-profit group. RASC Event Operations Manager Ben Boldtsays, "The nonprofit chosen usually has some sort of sports tie-in which the Boys & Girls Club does." Last week members of the RASC presented a check for $4,500 to help with Boys & Girls Club programs. "We were a little worried because the event was held the day after the Vikings lost the championship to the Saints and we had quite a few Vikings items in there," Boldt said. "But everyone came through and we raised more than we had in past years."
There is a summer full of sports activities in the works at the Boys & Girls Club. Lori Trotman, Development Assistant at the Club says, "We are partnering with the Rochester Tennis Connection for tennis camps and the Rochester Area Family Y for swimming lessons. … Also, the Northwest site has almost 300 members and continues to grow."
The second location in town, the Northwest site, is at Gage East and has been open for one year this summer.
