On Saturday, February 25, 2006, members of the Germantown Torch Club hosted the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia Torch Club Conference 2006. This year the theme was “Super Heroes in the City!” Torch Clubs throughout Philadelphia gathered this year in remembrance of those who lost their lives due to violent acts in our neighborhoods.
Ms. Ninette Cooper, unit director at the N.E Frankford B&GC inspired us all to be heroes through her remarkable presentation as our general session speaker. Mr. Clarence Miller, unit director at the Nicetown B&GC 18th St., helped us to wake up, warm up and move on with fun activities in the gym. All Torch Club advisors did a great job guiding their members through the process of a conference with working sessions. It took a great deal of energy, but it was worth it all.
Throughout the day members participated in team building & character development activities. They introduced their Super Heroes through a comic book format. Each super hero character’s task was to prevent violence and promote a safer environment for our citizens, but none of their super powers could be violent.
Through a community mapping activity, Torch Club members were able to identify hurting places near their Clubhouses where young people had lost their lives by violence. During the course of the conference, members of the Germantown Keystone Club prepared a separate map with all of the locations of violence submitted by each Touch Club.
At the conclusion of the conference, we recited a pledge that united us as a group to stand for peace. The map that the Keystone club created was placed on stage and each Torch Club placed teddy bears and candles, building a memorial to remember those that lost their lives.
All of the Super Heroes created by each Torch Club will be combined to produce a comic book that will capture the stories club started during the conference.
The conference was a huge success and we believe will inspire all Torch Clubs to stand for peace in our communities.
