Boys & Girls Club Blog

July 21, 2022

On July 19th, the Boys & Girls Club held its 12th annual Afternoon Tea event at The Gibson Social Club. The tea event is part of the Character & Etiquette program designed for the young ladies of the Club, ages 7-10.

Every summer, about 60 Club girls join the program and attend six classes taught by friends of the Club to build positive character and leadership skills. This year’s classes focused on community service, mental health, diversity, teamwork, being fluid in life and more.

Class 1 – Being Fluid in Life

Our first class was taught by Jess Hansen, Club Alumni and art teacher at Oshkosh West. Jess talked to the girls about how life has many turns and twists, some you like and others you might not like at the time, but they end up having good consequences. We then translated this into a project with fluid art. The girls learned that while they tried to control how the art ended up looking, it didn’t always turn out the way they wanted, but if they rolled with it, they still ended up with something beautiful.

Class 2 – Community Service/Giving Back

The wonderful ladies of Oshkosh Service League shared with the girls how they give back and why it is important to serve your community. The girls made pinecone bird feeders to take home and hang on their trees, giving back to the nature that surrounds them. We ended class with a special treat of popsicles.

Class 3 – Finding Your Power 

Dr. Kim and Dianna from Fletcher Chiropractic came to share about finding your power as a girl. We talked about why it is important for girls to find their power for themselves and how it betters their lives and about 3 ways to power up – mentally, physically and with nutrition through many fun activities.

Class 4 – Diversity 

Deanna Singh is a social entrepreneur, author and business coach who wrote the American Girl book, A Smart Girl’s Guide: Race & Inclusion. She joined us on zoom and talked about how we can build bridges to make a more equitable world and expand our personal bubbles to include more diversity in different ways like reading new stories. We ended our day with an activity led by Oshkosh Corporation’s Global Director of Diversity & Inclusion Darcy Pierson and other volunteers to make a self-portrait on how each girl saw their selves.

Class 5 – Tea Etiquette

Boys & Girls Club Director of Development & Strategic Initiatives Katie Talken shared with the girls what to expect the day of the Afternoon Tea and talked about proper etiquette, manners and hygiene for that day and answered any questions the girls had. The girls practiced introducing themselves and learned how to give a good handshake. Finally, we discussed how important it is to say “thank you” to the women who came to the tea to support them. The girls all made a popsicle stick photo frame as a party favor and thank you to attendees!

Class 6 – Teamwork

Wisconsin Glo players Taylor and Laken, and their general manager, Jessica, came to talk about how the women of the Wisconsin GLO have pursued their dream of being professional basketball players and what it takes to make that dream happen. They discussed the importance of working together as teammates. Then the girls did team challenges like a dribbling relay race and played lightning.

The Afternoon Tea event, presented by Kimberly-Clark Foundation, was the final celebration of the program. Club girls and women in our community came together to sip tea, enjoy a light lunch, get to know each other, and celebrate the girls’ completion of the classes. The girls got to feel extra special by picking out a brand-new sundress and flip-flops and getting their hair styled.

The event featured a positive and inspiring message from speaker, Ali Starr. Ali is the owner of Tashi Deley (Ta-She Delay) where she delivers inspirational, interactive keynotes and culture enhancement + transformation. Before creating Tashi Deley she served as the VP of Culture Development at Verve, a Credit Union. Tashi Deley is a Tibet greeting meaning “I honor the greatness within you,” and Ali sure did when she spoke to the girls about finding self-confidence and loving yourself.

Thank you to our Afternoon Tea Sponsors and to all the volunteers who made this event extra special!

Presenting Sponsor: Kimberly-Clark Foundation, Empower Sponsor: Oshkosh Corporation, Speaker Sponsors: Nicolet Bank, Silver Star Brands; Sun Dress Sponsors: Connie Hay, Lori Lasky, Old National Bank, Oshkosh Area Women’s Association, Inc., The Women’s Fund of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, Jeff & Ann Trembly; Flip Flop Sponsors: Bob & Sidonia Burnell, Fox River Valley Ethanol LLC, Darren & Kathy Lett; Class Sponsors: Julie Conrad-Peters, Hope Behind the Lens, Kaldas Center, McClone, Shea Electric & Communications LLC; Venue Sponsor: The Gibson Social Club; Lunch Sponsor: Becket’s. Volunteer Stylists: Robbin Freeman, Jess Hansen, Erin Kuehn, & Katelyn Langman, Lindsay Jones from Capelli Salon, Mandy Michalski from Salon Avana; Laura Carlson, Alexandria Her, & Wendy Justman from Studio R, and stylists from Trillium Salon. Thank you to Marco Promos for an extra special gift.

If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get involved in next year’s Character, Etiquette & Afternoon Tea program, please contact Director of Development & Strategic Initiatives, Katie Talken, at 920-233-1414, ext. 129 or katiet@bgcosh.org. Learn more on our website at bgcosh.org/afternoon-tea.