Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio Receives Grant from the San Antonio Area Foundation
San Antonio -- August 10, 2006

The Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio (BGCSA) have been awarded a $9,500 grant from the Dan and Gloria Oppenheimer Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation to support Immersion Presents: After-School Adventure with a Purpose. This innovative after-school science education program for youth in grades 5 through 8 was developed by famed oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard in 2002 as an effort to get America's youth excited about and engaged in science. Ballard, renowned for his discovery of the sunken Titanic, has inspired countless young people to consider careers in science as a result of their experience with the program.

With growing concerns about U.S. children lagging behind the rest of the world in scientific literacy, making science education engaging is critical. "The Immersion Presents science program is designed to help youth succeed in science, mathematics, and literacy while using technology to explore the world’s natural resources," said Jim Watson, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio. "The series is based on Ballard's' explorations and expeditions."

The BGCSA was one of only 44 local Boys & Girls Clubs (out of some 3,700 nationwide) that were selected to participate in the Immersion Presents science program last year. With funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), awards were made to these local Boys & Girls Club organizations throughout the country as part of their Crime Prevention Initiative.

The BGCSA's selection was based upon its plan for using the Immersion Presents program as a primary focus for crime prevention and youth development locally. The plan was developed at the October 2005 OJP Crime Prevention Conference in Washington, D.C. by representatives of the BGCSA, the City of San Antonio Department of Community Initiatives Directorate Youth Services Division and the San Antonio Police Athletics League.

BGCSA launched its pilot Immersion Presents program last April at the Calderon branch on the city's west side. The initial curriculum, which was completed in May, focused on Ballard's Black Sea missions. The summer program, which has 46 children involved, utilized the Dolphins component of the series. In the upcoming academic year, the BGCSA program will focus on two additional components of the series: Titanic LIVE and Life at the Extremes.

"This generous grant from the San Antonio Area Foundation will allow us to expand the Immersion Presents program to our other branches in San Antonio," said Watson. "The Boys & Girls Clubs strongly believe in creating opportunities for youth so they have the chance to follow their dreams, just as Ballard has been able to do throughout his amazing career," said Watson.

For more than 40 years, the San Antonio Area Foundation, a publicly supported philanthropic institution, has been administering donors' funds and granting gifts from those funds to worthy charitable causes that significantly enhance the quality of life in the communities they serve.

Founded in 1939, the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio serve more than 6,000 members annually at five branch locations. The Clubs provide after school and summer program services that develop talents, values and skills in youth ages six-to-18 years old, paying particular attention to those most disadvantaged. As a result of the Clubs programs, young people are inspired and enabled to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. For more information, visit the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio website at: www.bgcsatx.org.