West Orange Boys & Girls Club provides summer activities

More than 100 children came together to have a friendly, but competitive, three-on-three basketball tournament that brought together friends and families from all around the community Saturday, June 21. 

This was a way for the West Orange Boys & Girls Club to help get the children out of their homes and involved in a fun activity during the summer. This group puts on different events all summer to provide opportunities to children of all ages up to 18 years old in the area that don’t have the chance in their day-to-day lives to play video games or participate in any friendly sporting activities. 

Shamel Akins, the service director for the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida, said the purpose of the Boys & Girls Club is to get youth involved in various activities, provide opportunities to meet local leaders and pique their interest in entrepreneurship. Some of the activities they offer include field trips and parties. 

“It allows teens to be involved and saves students from getting into trouble,” Akins said. “This club helps motivate the kids to do more and be better. These events are there to support them and provide opportunities that they may not have at their own home, be involved in something new and have the resources to help push aside any worry about money issues.” 

The most recent event the club put on was on Saturday, June 21, where it had a Mardi Gras themed three-on-three tournament. The event also featured a three-point contest, video game stations to play the newest 2025 video games, a stilt walker, arts and crafts stations, and a deejay. 

Akins said the Boys & Girls Club wanted to provide unique experiences for the children, such as seeing stilt walkers, as well as giving them hands-on resources to allow them to express their creativity. The arts and crafts stations allowed them to make gifts, like bracelets, to give to family or friends while also showing their creative side. 

The event gave volunteers a chance to express to the children how each of them is incredible, creative, special and each one of them deserves to have every opportunity the rest of the community has. 

On top of that, the winners of the three-point contest won new Apple watches and the club also gave out two new TVs, electric scooters, spray ground bookbags and Apple airpods. 

The kids not only were able to win prizes, but also they had fun in the community meeting friends and being involved in something that got them out of the house.

This positively impacted the kids by showing them they can have a good time in the community getting involved in different activities. Not only did this have a significant impact on the kids that came and participated, but it also had a great impact on the community, pulling together local families and out-of-town families to volunteer and help out in any way they could.

Many local leaders and businesses volunteered and donated resources.

Akins said the summer events have grown tremendously. 

“The more people we get involved with, the more the program is able to grow,” he said. “In the past, the location participation has always had around 100 plus kids. The goal is to continue to grow and get a participation number of over 200 kids.”

Looking toward the future, Akins wants to be able to motivate and inspire these kids to volunteer in local communities and possibly even their local Boys & Girls Club. 

This club allows anyone from anywhere in Central Florida to participate for free. 

If this sounds interesting to you, the next event they are holding is from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 12, at 309 S. West Crown Point Road, Winter Garden.