WESTFIELD—The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Westfield were surprise recipients of a technology makeover Friday, receiving a bevy of new electronics due to their efforts toward improving the environment.
The Boys and Girls Club received the technology makeover from Samsung, following Samsung’s Climate Superstars Challenge earlier this year where they placed first in the nation. The makeover was a surprise for the Boys and Girls Club and came due to the local club’s Torch Club, a leadership group for 11- to 13-year-olds. The prizes included several televisions, computers and tablets.
Lily Barrette (left), of Westfield, and Mckenna Kingsley (right), of Southwick, look at a new Google Chromebook received by Samsung.
“We want to say ‘thank you’ to Samsung and the Boys and Girls Club for what we already knew, which is that we have some great students who care about the environment,” Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan said.
“For Westfield to be put on the map by you, you deserve these gifts,” he said.
“I’m surprised, impressed with my local Boys and Girls Club that I worked with,” Torch member, Aaron Brockington, 11, of Westfield, said. “We wanted to help the world out and make it a better place.”
The Boys and Girls Club received the makeover due to their efforts of the Torch Club to “motivate young people to take actions that help protect the environment and raise awareness about climate change,” according to a press release provided by Shannon Ross, account manager for AgencyMSI.
Jared Fanska (left) and Jackson Krause (right), both of Westfield, check out two of the new tablets received from Samsung.
“This has been a great program for kids to learn about the environment and work as a team. They all worked together,” Bill Parks, Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Westfield, said. “Number one in the US is great.”
The prizes received included a 55-inch Samsung television, 20 tablets and 10 Google Chromebooks, and was said to total more than $10,000. In addition, the group was given citations from Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan, the State House of Representatives and Rep. John Velis, as well as the State Senate and Sen. Don Humason.
The group was also able to give back, as the prize from Samsung included a $3,000 donation to a charity of their choice. The group chose to donate that money to the Puerto Rican hurricane relief efforts through the Westfield Spanish-American Association.
The Torch Club presents a $3,000 donation to the Westfield Spanish-American Association.
“Even just getting the technology is huge for our Boys and Girls Club. They do their homework online, learn online, all things need to connect online,” Darryll Roberts, Education Director and Torch Club Advisor, said.
Roberts has been with the Boys and Girls Club totaling 18 years, from being a member to being staff going on 11 years.
“I’m really proud of our Torch Club members, they worked really hard,” she said.
Aaron Brockington checks out a tablet.
“I feel very proud that we won, it’s a big event,” Emma Beaulieu, 12, of Westfield and fellow Torch member, said. “I’m very happy we got to be part of doing something for the environment.”
The Boys and Girls Club Torch Club had completed sustainability activities and weekly challenges from Sept. 18 to Nov. 5. These activities and challenges were focused on themes such as energy efficiency improvement, water conservation and waste reduction. The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Westfield completed all the tasks, as well as surpassing all the challenge requirements.
Some tasks included recycling items and visiting a local recycling center to learn how it works, to planting saplings in the forest to help promote growth—which was both Brockington and Beaulieu’s favorite activity.
