Sanger Teen Summit

Last month, 17 members from the Sanger Boys & Girls Club participated in Innovating Sanger—a gang prevention summit funded by Measure S and hosted by SAM (Science, Art, Music) Academy in Sanger, CA. During this summit, members heard an inspirational story by Guillermo “Willie” Lopez, a Sanger resident who left his gang as a young adult to pursue a degree at Harvard University. Willie was capable of removing himself from a tough situation for the sake of a better life. These kinds of real-life stories are crucial for our members to hear as they experience risky situations, where gangs are constantly recruiting.

“Gangs who recruit youth are a big problem in my community,” said Uriel Andrade, age 15, Reedley’s 2022 Youth of the Year, “I’d like to see a positive change.”

After Willie’s speech, members took part in two educational workshops. The first was a healthy food cooking demo where they were taught how to make whole-wheat vegetable wraps. The second, was a STEM project where they constructed snow globes using corks, cups, cardboard and batteries. Everyone at the Summit received snacks throughout the day and pizza for lunch, courtesy of Me-n-Ed’s Pizzeria.

The Measure S Grant Program has been in existence since 2012 and was established by the City of Sanger to make an impact in young people’s futures by funding programs that address anti-gang and anti-drug strategies. It also funds popular college and career readiness programs like Career Launch.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Sanger are grateful to the City of Sanger for providing Measure S funding for new educational and prevention programs for the youth of Sanger.