Courtesy photo.
OXNARD — The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme have partnered with the Brent Shapiro Foundation to open the first Brent’s Club in Ventura County at the Club’s Teen Center. Brent’s Club is a sober club offered to middle and high school teens that provides incentives for participants to abstain from the use of drugs and alcohol. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held June 25 at the BGCOP Teen Center, 126 E. 7th Street, Oxnard.
“This program will provide our teens with additional incentives and prevention education to stay away from drugs and alcohol. Their unique approach to prevention aligns with our vision of providing programs that inspire and enable youth to become productive, responsible citizens,” said Erin Antrim, chief executive officer, BGCOP. “We are very excited to be able to provide this new service to our teen members and others in the community who want to join.”
The new Brent’s Club will provide teens at the Teen Center with defined curriculum on drug prevention and alcohol. Members of the program are asked to voluntarily participate in a saliva drug test once a week. Participants who test positive receive private, discreet counseling. Those who stay sober are rewarded with incentives which include educational technological devices (i.e. iPads, laptop computers, etc.), tutoring, and special events. The program then rewards teens who have remained drug-free throughout their Brent’s Club membership, awarding them with a college scholarship at high school graduation.
“We currently have Brent’s Clubs located within Boys & Girls Clubs in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Oakland, Las Vegas, Houston and now are happy to have partnered with the Oxnard/Port Hueneme Boys & Girls Club, said Robert Shapiro, founder of the Brent Shapiro Foundation. “With every partnership, it’s one more step towards not just saving lives, but creating new lifestyles.”
This program will be open to anyone in the community between the ages of 11 and17 who become Club members. The cost of membership is only $20 and no one is turned away regardless of ability to pay.
About the Brent Shapiro Foundation: The Brent Shapiro Foundation was founded by Robert and Linell Shapiro, in 2005 after the tragic passing of their son, Brent, to drug addiction. Together they decided to turn the pain of their loss into a passion to prevent the disease of drug addiction. The Foundation hosts an annual event, The Summer Spectacular, with honorees of the Spirit of Sobriety such as Joe Manganiello, Rob Lowe, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Kelly Osbourne, to raise funds that support their flagship program, Brent’s Club. Brent’s Club is a drug prevention, evidence-based program, where kids 11 to 17 years old agree, with their parents, to random, non-invasive drug testing and receive ongoing rewards with each positive test and ultimately the opportunity to be awarded a college scholarship. For more information, visit www.brentshaprio.org.
About the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme: The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme (BGCOP) is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) youth service organization. BGCOP’s mission is “to inspire and enable all youth, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential, as productive, responsible and caring citizens.” Services are provided in three freestanding clubhouses in Oxnard and Port Hueneme which include a dedicated Teen Center, 12 public school program sites, one club site in Nyeland Acres, one site at a Squires Public Housing, and the first Boys & Girls Club in a juvenile hall in the State of California. The purpose of BGCOP is to provide social, educational and recreational programs to all youth ages 6-18 years old, with an emphasis on those in underserved areas. Annual member dues is $20.00 however, no one is turned away regardless of ability to pay. Over 10,400 youth and teens are served annually. For more information, to get involved or to donate, please visit www.BGCOP.org