The youngest residents of Oxnard and Port Huneme will soon receive a science-based vocational training from their local men’s and girls’ club.
The Great Oxnard and Port Huneme Boys and Girls Clubs on Tuesday thanked donors and club leaders for their contributions to the construction of science, technology, engineering, arts and agriculture, and math centers. Four club locations each in Oxnard, Port Honeme and Nylon Acre.
“Kids in our community want these opportunities,” said Erin Antrim, CEO of the Great Oxnard and Port Huneme Men’s and Women’s Clubs.
Beginning in elementary school, approximately 10,000 students enrolled in the local Boys and Girls Club can join programs to prepare themselves for high-paying careers in the county’s leading business and science-based industries in agriculture and manufacturing.
The students will be involved in 3D printing, robotics, horticulture and engineering.
The money raised over the past two years will be used to improve the company’s technological infrastructure and to build and maintain the grant, Antrim said.
He said each of the four science centers will be completed by the end of 2022.
“Just as you changed mine, you change the lives of children every day,” says 15-year-old Amethyst Mirror.
For the past 10 years, Glass has visited men’s and women’s clubs, participated in leadership programs, and advocated against drug and alcohol abuse. The organization has helped build her self-confidence and become the next leader in the community.
Mestawot said she hopes to one day sit on the board of directors of the Boys and Girls Club to help young people achieve their dreams.
“Show me how to be a leader, how to be myself,” he said. It really empowered me to do what I needed to do.
Brian J. Varela covers Oxnard, Port Hume, and Camarillo. It can be reached at brian.varela@vcstar.com or 805-477-8014. You can find it on Twitter @ BrianVarela805.