The Golden Egg...

Today we did an Easter egg hunt since Sunday is Easter. There were eggs with candy, eggs with club bucks and special prizes. Also there was one egg with 25 cents in pennies in it...Huni found that one! :) I was searching and searching and couldn't find any eggs. The out of the corner of my eye, I saw one! (Hah...dramatic!) Well after I found that I saw a bunch, I saw one by the sidewalk, then there was three more across it. Then I started to look in less obvious places...I looked by the bushes, the trees and in long grass. Finally, I looked under a stone bench and there was a shiny one. I thought nothing was in it. I kept looking. Then when everybody found them all, I opened mine. In the shiny one there was a club buck!! I was happy! Then I bought Life Savers. I had a lot of fun!

~Courtney N.

Hygiene Awareness at GRLZ 4 Change!

The GRLZ 4 Change program is helping girls by giving them clear information about personal hygiene. On Monday they played a trivia game, answering all sorts of questions relating to personal care such as how often to go to the dentist, how to take care of your skin and treating acne, guidelines for using sanitary napkins and tampons, and preventing body odor. The girls received sample sizes of soaps, deodorants, and more as prizes! Activities like this help build confidence in girls in a safe environment where they can openly ask questions and learn about their changing bodies.

Run Like a Diva! Nike Girls' 5K

Sunday morning, Maria and Miss Natalie were up at the crack of dawn to join hundreds of other women in the Nike Girls 5K. The course was set up through Ala Moana Beach Park and without a cloud in the sky, we took off running in a sea of pink!
Maria's favorite part was everything they handed out. Midway through the run, she got a tiara and a pink feather boa! And at the end of the run, we were given a medal with a pink ribbon around our necks.
The positive energy at the 5K helped reinforce why we love to run - because it's good exercise and it's FUN! Our goal was to complete the run in less than 40 minutes, and Maria shared that the hardest part was really pushing herself to keep running. We almost hit our goal with a finish time of 41:59! With our third and final 5K just weeks away, we still have time to keep training and improve our running time!

...First and Last... Aliamanu Represents at the Biddy Basketball Tournament!

From left: Carlton, Dane, Brandon, JP, Reyez, Nel Jay, Rex, Arnold, Jimmy & Diano!

On Saturday 10 members from Aliamanu participated in the 33rd Annual Biddy Baller Easter Classic at the Spalding Clubhouse. The boys practiced hard two times a week for a month and a half to prepare for the tournament, and they showed up ready to play! Using all the knowledge they gained from practices, the boys played four games, winning 2 and losing 2.
When the team wasn't playing a game, they were given special access into the game room where they played pool, foosball, air hockey and xbox. In the game room, members from all of the teams were able to interact with each other and Diano shared that he was able to meet new friends and Arnold said that "the game room was really fun." The boys gathered at the end of the day to watch the championship game between Santa Monica and Spalding. The boys cheered for the Spalding team and Brandon's favorite part of the day was when Cameron from the Spalding team made a last second shot from the half court to win the game.
Aliamanu finished the tournament in 4th place. All the players really enjoyed playing basketball with their friends. Rex enjoyed "breaking some ankles" while JP loved challenging the other teams and they all enjoyed winning! Diano's favorite part was when he "made some awesome shots like the 3 pointer swish" and when he "drove in for 2 points."
The boys learned many things throughout this experience. Reyez learned to play fair and "pump fake" so he won't get capped. Brandon learned to play good defense by putting your hands up. JP learned that rebounding is really important. Rex learned that he can't get mad while playing sports and Dane learned not to be a sore loser.
The boys were provided a delicious dinner at the end of the day for all of their hard work. Congratulations to the Aliamanu Basketball Team for doing an awesome job! To see more photos from the game, click here!

~Coach Bri

Youth of the Year Film Debut!

BGCH Youth of the Year 2011 from Franz Schmutzer on Vimeo.

Franz, Natalie and Rob at the YOY Premier Brunch!
Franz and Rob created the initial vision of the project!

This past Saturday, the Youth of the Year film was premiered at the Annual Brunch at the Hawaii Prince Hotel to over 350 guests there to support the 10 youth candidates that participated in the competition this year. The project was filmed by a media crew composed of Aliamanu LITs that traveled to each of the clubs around Oahu to meet the candidates and staff, explore each clubhouse and gather footage for the film. The LITs worked hard to capture interesting shots and find ways to really convey the unique personalities of each participant. Everyone who viewed the film loved it and we're already getting requests for it to become an annual tradition for the YOY journey! Great job to the Aliamanu LITs for such an awesome accomplishment: Gabby, Kawehionalani, Justice, Shantae, Alvin, Bradley, Kevin, Carla, and Huni!

Behind the scenes at Spalding...

Kailua...

and Waianae!

Another ReaDch Celebration!

As a reward for completing the second book in our ReaDch series "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story," the youth from Aliamanu celebrated with a pizza & ice cream party and a movie night at the Spalding BGCH. The youth were excited to have the privilege to party in the Laker's Reading Room, an appropriate site for the theme of the night! They watched the movie version of the book they had just finished earlier in the week. Arii shared: "I really loved the book and the movie we watched because it talks about a boy who grows up to be a neurosurgeon (a doctor who does surgery on the brain) and he saves a lot of people's lives." Maria thought it was "super fun and the movie was really good!" And Gabby enjoyed the opportunity to spend quality time with her friends. All in all, the book and the celebration taught the youth that reading pays off!

GRLZ 4 Change are Inspired!

Last week’s GRLZ 4 Change session encouraged the girls to use the computers to research a variety of inspirational women. Each member chose a girl or woman that they wanted to learn more about, found out how they have made a positive change in their worlds, and then shared the information with the rest of the group. Here’s who inspires the girls at Aliamanu BGCH:

“Brenda Song is influential because she participates in Friends for Change and Pass the Plate. She is smart because she graduated high school when she was 16. She participated in the 13^th Annual Race to Erase MS Charity. She saved her brother from drowning. Finally, she is involved in the Make a Wish Foundation.” ~Courtney

“Dawn O’Brien is a motivational Christian speaker. She speaks on 95.5 and she spoke at the 2011 Him Conference. She inspires many others to be positive.” ~Heather

“Selena Gomez is a young American singer and actress. She is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and an Emmy-Award winning actress on the Disney Channel.” ~Arii

“Coco Ho is inspirational because she reaches her goals and she participates in a variety of charity events.” ~Gabby

“Bethany Hamilton is influential because after a shark attack she still never gave up on her dream. Four months after her shark attack she placed fifth at the National Surfing Championships. Bethany also helps charitable causes. She went to Thailand to help children who were hurt by the 2004 tsunami disaster and helps anti-drug programs for the State of Hawaii.” ~Jasmine

“Kelly Clarkson won the first American Idol contest. She supports 10 different charities and causes. She always works for her best.” ~Jahcianna

“Carrie Underwood is an active member of the Humane Society of the United States. She is an animal lover. She advocates for the Protect Your Pet program. She does a lot of public service announcements. She used her singing skills to benefit cancer research.” ~Makeala & Keonna

“Taylor Swift cares about other people and not just herself. She is not promiscuous. She works with different charities. Her songs are appropriate for young girls. She is sweet.” ~Maria & Arianna