CALLING ALL ALUMNI Hey there alumni of “The Bay” !! We miss you and we want to hear from you. There are many thousands of you and not enough of you are in touch with us. And that’s not your fault. We haven’t reached out to you often enough or loudly enough. That changes now.
To get started, please tell us how Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club impacted your life. We want to share your story here and hopefully we can impact someone else's life just as positive as we have impacted yours. Keep in touch with us either through e-mail alumni@kipsbay.org or become a fan of ours and share your pictures and quick stories on facebook. Your support for "The Bay" is very important to us, and the reason we are still able to serve the 14,000 kids that we do today throughout our 9 sites in the Bronx.
Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club changed my life in many ways. When I joined the swim team I learned how to be a team player and the importance of helping others achieve their goals for the betterment of the team. When I joined the karate club I learned what discipline is and how to push myself harder. I was lucky to receive a partial scholarship from the clubhouse, to the Princeton Education Center in Blairstown, NJ. They called it the Princeton Challenge and its focus was to help the individuals challenge themselves on a personal level and in a team environment through various activities like hiking, rappelling and rock climbing. During my time as a camper I saved a little boy from drowning. I would not have had the opportunity to save this little boy had it not been for Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club's scholarship program. I later was invited to join their leadership team as a junior instructor and received a stipend for my efforts. It instilled in me a sense of community and as a result I volunteered at the clubhouse whenever I could. In 1985 I would receive the clubhouse's most prestigious award, Girl of the Year, a great honor for me. I am greatly indebted to Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club for the various lessons it taught me, the safe environment it provided me to grow in, the friendships I made as a result, and the supportive leadership it extended. My life would be very different if I did not have the clubhouse as a refuge during my youth.
All the best,
Maritza Murillo
Thank you so much
Ed Pinckney
Former NBA Player/Assistant Basketball Coach, Villanova University
Born in 1963, Ed Pinckney grew up in the Bronx, N.Y.,and attended the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, because,he recalls, he wanted to avoid playing basketball outdoorsduring the cold winters there. After honing his skillsat the Club, Pinckney was accepted at Villanova Universityand became one of the finest basketball players inthe school's history. During his time there, the Wildcatscaptured the university's only NCAA championship title.A number one draft choice of the Phoenix Suns in 1985,Pinckney spent 12 years in the National BasketballAssociation. Following his retirement in 1997, Pinckneyjoined the Miami Heat organization as part of its broadcastingteam. Coming full circle, he returned to Villanovain 2003 as an assistant basketball coach. Reflectingon his Club experience, Pinckney says, "The Clubhelped us establish a fantastic foundation in athletics.It was just an incredible experience for me and myfamily."
Jennifer Lopez
Actor/Singer
This megastar credits the Kips Bay Boys & GirlsClub in the Bronx, N.Y., with helping her get startedin the entertainment industry. It was at the Club thatLopez honed her skills as a performer. "The staffrecognized a spark of performing potential in me, andbrought that spark alive," she says. "SoonI was singing and dancing in regular Club performancesand before long was part of the Club's traveling troupe." Aftergetting her start as a dancer on the TV show In LivingColor, Lopez landed the title role in the feature filmSelena, which officially launched her into superstardom.She has since starred in dozens of feature films, whileat the same time managing her award-winning singingcareer. Today, she is known as one of the nation'stop female performers. "I can honestly say I don'tknow where I'd be today without the Club," saysLopez. "Thanks to Boys & Girls Clubs fromthe bottom of my heart, for all you have done for me,and for so many others."
Daniel Quintero
Boys & Girls Club Professional
Ten-year-old Danny Quintero walked into Kips Bay Boys & GirlsClub in 1970 and, truly, never left the Movement. At “TheBay” he began a life long love of baseball thatled to a stint in professional baseball, followed bya return to Boys & Girls Clubs, first at MadisonSquare Boys & Girls Club, followed by the NortheastRegional Office. In December 1996 Dan returned to KipsBay, the first Bronx native and first alumnus to leadthe organization. His tenure has been characterizedby sustained growth, in membership, venues of service,and program innovation. From a 1996 membership of 5,559and 4 sites, Kips Bay grew, by the end of FY06, to12,910 members at 10 sites, including new service deliveryat two homeless shelters and two public housing projects.Program innovation includes teen entrepreneurial projectlearning, and obesity prevention, funded, in part,through Kips Bays’ first federal grant throughCongressman Crowley. In 2002 the Frederic R. CoudertSports Complex was constructed on the Palmaro Clubhousegrounds. Construction of an 11th service venue, ourfuture West Bronx Clubhouse, is expected to begin inthe fall of 2007. Championed by Bronx Borough PresidentCarrion, the future Clubhouse will be a state-of-the-arte-technology youth development facility.
Kerry Washington
Actress
The wonderful young actress who gave such a strongand dignified portrayal of Ray Charles’ beleagueredwife in the movie “Ray”, was a club memberat Kips Bay in the early 90’s. Ms. Washingtondemonstrates, brilliantly, the capacity of our artsprogram to help launch youngsters of real talent andcommitment to impressive careers.
In truth, we were not aware of Kerry until she began,most graciously, to mention us in the media. Ms. Washingtonwas in the dance program, but not the more visibleK-Company. Still, our dance program, with its professionalinstruction leading to the impressive annual recitalthat we call “Broadway Babies”, was a powerfulboost to the youthful artist. In 2005 she e-emailedus from Africa—where she was filming—toexpress her appreciation for the experience she hadhere. In 2007 Kerry served a Co-Chair of our 25th AnniversaryCelebration of the Performing Arts at Kips Bay. Whileher busy filming schedule kept her from attending theevent, she made a video for the occasion. Her parentsdid attend to accept our award in recognition of hermany accomplishments and as a spotless role model foryoung people.
Manny VillafanaScientist/Entrepreneur/Businessman
Manny Villafaña attended Kips Bay’s last ManhattanClubhouse on East 52nd Street. He traveled there fromhis home in the Bronx. Desperately poor, his fatherdied when he was 10, and his mothers sewed garmentsin a sweat shop. Despite these obstacles, Manny wenton to found six publicly held companies that developedand manufactured pacemakers and heart valves.
A very generous donor to Kips Bay, Mr. Villafañaretains a life long gratitude for his Kips Bay experience.He expressed it this way in a 1969 letter:
It was just yesterday that I was commenting with afriend of mine
on my early years in your Boys’ Club… Itold him that a Boys’
Club was made up of men, of men who would build thecharacter
in the boys…of men trying to be fathers forthose, like myself, who
did not have a father…
I told him that a Boys’ Club was a summer offun…I told him that
a Boys’ Club meant learning new skills at camp…Itold him that
a Boys’ Club was a molder of youth…
