Daniel J. Brush - Sacramento Kings: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports

This book on the Sacramento Kings is part of the intriguing and exciting Sports by the Numbers TM series, which is published by Savas Beatie LLC, a local publishing company with strong ties to our community. When its Managing Director, Theodore Ted Savas, asked me to write this Foreword, I happily agreed to do so for a number of reasons. First, to share with others information about the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento. Second, to thank Bank of America for its long support of our program and for making this book possible. And last but certainly not least, because I love basketball in general, and the Sacramento Kings in particular!

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento (BGCGS) was founded in 1996 in response to a growing need in our community for constructive after-school programs for youth. Our mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens. We offer programs at two full service club facilities: the Raley Branch in downtown Sacramento, and the Teichert Branch in Lemon Hill. In 2007, we also began providing school-based after-school programs at seven area elementary schools.

As the BGCGS Chief Executive Officer, I am often asked what, exactly, kids do in our programs. In a nutshell, we provide safe havens for young people where they can:

Play games and have fun;

Do homework and get academic assistance;

Develop positive health and nutrition habits;

Learn life skills, such as responsible decision-making, problem-solving, and goal-setting;

Learn transferable skills related to technology, work, careers, and higher education

Every Boys & Girls Club program across America incorporates the Youth Development Strategy, which fosters a sense of belonging, competence, usefulness, and influence among young people. These programs help participants develop self-confidence and self-esteem that they can carry with them for a lifetime. My job is always rewarding, but it is never easy.

BGCGS serves youth ages 6 18. We have more than 2,700 registered members, with daily attendance ranging from 300 600. The majority of our member population lives in South Sacramento, in neighborhoods with large youth populations, including Lemon Hill, Fruitridge, and Meadowview. The remainder live in the downtown Sacramento neighborhood of Alkali Flat. Our membership is culturally diverse, with a mixture of long-term residents and recent immigrants and newcomers. Seventy percent of our members come from economically challenged backgrounds (family income $23,000 or less) and 42% live in single parent families. Membership is just $12 per school year, but it costs our Club $562 a year to provide programs. (Keep in mind it costs the state of California more than $25,000 to house one inmate for one year!)

This short introduction about our club leads me to my next reason for writing this Foreword. Many individuals and organizations help support BGCGS. Without their help, we would not be able to serve our youth. Bank of America has steadfastly assisted us over the years. In addition to financial support, this year the bank agreed to help us implement a fun, educational, and exciting way to promote reading, writing, math, web technologies, and more. How? By helping sponsor the book you are now holding in your hands.

Eric Stanion, Bank of Americas Senior Vice President, Market Development Manager, spearheaded this project. Eric worked closely with the publisher, Marketing Director Sarah Keeney, and myself to make sure the book was suitable for our program, and that it would help facilitate literacy within our group. Savas Beatie agreed to prepare what is now known as Sports by the Numbers in a Box, a series of games, lesson plans, ideas, and programs based around the Sacramento Kings book that our staff and students can easily implement. This book is filled with short and fun-to-read stories about our Sacramento Kings, each tied to a number, and in turn related to a dynamic website. We are confident our youth members will not only love reading all of them, but will learn from them and participate in the cool projects we have planned around this amazing book!

Finally, this book is all about basketball, and our youth love the NBA in general, and the Sacramento Kings in particular! The Kings bring so much to our community: pride in a professional team, community service, great games, an outstanding cast of personalities, and owners in the Maloofs who have always supported important programs that help greater Sacramento. The concept of these books is wonderful, but the subject matter of this book really excites our young people. Because of that excitement, they will read more, think more, participate more, and root longer and louder for their Sacramento Kings!

Thank you Eric, Ted, Sarah, and everyone else for your steadfast support of Boys & Girls Club of Greater Sacramento.

And go Kings!

Kim Williams

Chief Executive Officer

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Sacramento