After many months in the works, the Ulbrich Boys and Girls Club (UBGC) began offering its services for the 2019-’20 school year, opening its North Haven facility on Aug. 28. The UBGC, which is housed in Hope Christian Church at 221 Montowese Avenue, offers both before-school and after-school care for elementary and middle school students.

The North Haven Planning & Zoning Committee capped the program’s capacity at 70 students. The after-school program quickly filled and now has a waitlist of 85 students, according to Carlos Collazo, executive director of UBGC.

“We, as an organization, were expecting a large number of families to register, but we didn’t expect it to fill up as quickly as it did,” said Collazo. “That tells me that the need is greater than what we had anticipated, which is awesome for us as an organization because our goal is to serve more youth, more often and to provide a safe and impactful program of quality.”

While the afternoon program is on a waitlist status, the before-care program still has openings. Students can be dropped off as early at 6:30 a.m. and will then be bussed to their school. The cost for the before-school program is $140 a month.

Collazo was excited that over the first week of the program, every student enrolled came through the door. In addition to greeting students with a rally line and high fives, the UBGC also received several donations in its first week.

Mike Papale, the director of the In a Heartbeat Foundation, presented the UBGC with an AED so the club has a defibrillator on site. Several local businesses and organizations, including United Way of Greater New Haven, the Bilco Company, Eagle Rock Management, and Raymour & Flanigan, provided backpacks and school supplies.

Some of the donated supplies were provided to the kids in the program and the remainder will be used as giveaways in the upcoming Day for Kids, a worldwide event hosted by Boys and Girls Clubs of America. The North Haven Day for Kids will be held Saturday, Sept. 14 on the North Haven Green.

In addition to the giveaways, there will be entertainment, inflatables, vendors, shows, and food trucks offering food for sale. The North Haven event is being run by the UBGC’s newly formed Parent Advisory Council.

“It’s a free event open to the public that’s designed to recognize kids and make it a fun day for them,” said Collazo. “Many parents have volunteered to be part of our Parent Advisory Council and I’d like to give a big shoutout to Anna Buono for stepping up and heading that as they’ve taken on the task of helping us put together the Day for Kids event.”

The UBGC has seen support from families beyond the Parent Advisory Council, including the donation of materials and supplies. A full wishlist is posted online, but includes items such as board games, books, bean bag chairs, pool sticks, ping pong paddles and balls, outdoor activity supplies like playground and sport balls, chalk, and Frisbees.

Collazo also noted “great support” from the community, including Pastor Jim Detweiler and Hope Church, First Selectman Mike Freda and other town officials, the fire chief, and the chief of police. Many community members and businesses have also supported the UBGC in terms of donating toward the purchase and maintenance of the 60 green giant arborvitae trees that the Planning & Zoning Committee required the club to plant as a privacy screen to neighbors.

“As far as the tree project, [board member] Erik Scarnuzzo has been on top of that to make sure we have everything we need,” said Collazo. “We’ve covered quite a bit of the expense, but we’re still looking for support.”

The total cost for the tree project was $5,000. For $50, sponsors will be recognized as a Legacy vTree Sponsor at our North Haven Unit. To sponsor a tree, contact Don Crouch at dcrouch@ulbrichbgc.org.

For now, Collazo and the UBGC are concentrating on creating a positive experience for all of those enrolled in the program. He is also hoping to be able to expand the offerings to more North Haven youth in the future.

“Our goal is to provide a safe environment for the youth we’re currently serving and ensure they’re having a great experience and developing their character and leadership skills,” said Collazo. “One major plan is to talk to Planning and Zoning to see about allowing UBGC to serve additional youth at this facility.”