Boys and Girls Club to Celebrate 125 Years
By Robin Vinci | Editor at October 20, 2023 | 3:15 pm | Print
On Nov. 3, the Boys and Girls Club of New Britain will hold its 125th Annual Meeting and Anniversary Gala Event at the Farmington Club.
This year’s featured Guest Speaker will be Geno Auriemma, UConn Women’s Basketball Coach. The Manafort Family will be honored with the Hands Across Generations Award and Whitson’s Culinary Group will receive the President’s Award.
Dr. Joseph Paige, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Central Connecticut State University and a member of the Club’s board of directors, said the gala is a way to celebrate and recognize contributors, students and donors.
“The Boys and Girls Club is transitioning from a recreational facility to an academic support facility,” said Dr. Paige. “The gala is a fundraiser as well to keep it going and expand it.”
Paige grew up in Philadelphia, PA and was part of the club as a young boy.
“It was the place you could go where you would feel safe after school,” he said. “As an adult I would go there to play ball and talks to the kids.”
Paige has been on the board in New Britain for about five years.
“I get a chance to see the innovative things we do. The University partners with them. We have robotics, 3-D Printing and Design and an ACE Mentoring Program,” said Dr. Paige. “Most of the board members get to as many things as they can to support the kids.”
Dr. Paige has over 25 years of experience in comprehensive knowledge and practical experience in higher education, specifically the areas of academic planning, policy creation, curriculum development and the management of student services.
At the two previous institutions where he was employed, Dr. Paige has been a strong advocate and supporter of access and retention initiatives for students of color in higher education. He established a mentoring program for male students of color as well as assisted in the development of the African American Male Book Club at the Community College of Philadelphia. Both programs had a noted impact on keeping at-risk male students engaged and focused as they progressed to graduation. He carried the idea of the male book club to Cheyney University of Pennsylvania and was able to create a successful collaboration effort that still exists with male students of these two institutions.
He co-founded the International Student Athlete Academy, Inc. in 1995, with two other former collegiate student-athletes with the primary mission to better prepare “at-risk’ middle and high school student-athletes from inner-city Philadelphia for the academic, athletic and social demands of college.
Locally, he currently serves on the Board of Directors for the New Britain Boys and Girls Club, the Executive Board for the Hartford Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha, Psi, Inc., and the Advisory Board of the Greater Harford Male Youth Leadership Program.
“There is big base of Boys and Girls Club alumni and we are looking for more volunteers,” said Dr. Paige. “Maybe they were touched by the club as I was. It is a very important entity especially in the inner cities.”
Other board members include Stan Szczepanik, Rick Mullins, Donna Rutola, Judith K. Greco, Frank Miller, Nicholas E. DeNigris, Esq., Gary Timura, Mary Pat Bigley, Cheryl Blogoslawski, Paul D’Addabbo, Peter J. Denuzze, Michael Foran, Joseph Guarino, William Huber, James Jones, Steve S. Krawczynski, Dan Lee, Wanda Lickwar, Michael MacDonald, James A. Manafort, Jr.. Jim McNair, Pastor Thomas Mills, William Ostapchuck, Paul Salina, Dr. Nicole Sanders, Judi Spreda, Victor Thomas, Michael Timura, Michael Veneziano and Police Chief William Wardwell.
For more information on the Club or the Gala call 860-229-2865.
