My kids love video games. I hate for them to spend too much time on them. Now there is a game that makes us both happy — World of Goo. Kids love it because it looks great, has amazing gameplay, fun music and immediate rewards. I love it because it teaches some great skills along the way (shh….don’t tell the kids).

Players use goo balls to build structures to achieve the level's goal.

The main objective of the game is to get a requisite number of goo balls to a pipe representing the exit. In order to do so, the player must use the goo balls to construct bridges, towers, and other structures to overcome gravity and various terrain difficulties such as chasms, hills, spikes, or cliffs. There are several types of goo balls in the game, each of which has unique properties. The player must exploit combinations of these goo balls in order to complete each level. Extra goos recovered in the pipe are pumped through to the World of Goo Corporation, a sandbox area where the objective is to compete with other players worldwide by building the tallest tower possible. [from wikipedia]

Each level is a puzzle  that will engage your child to use critical thinking to achieve the goal. While using their problem solving skills they’ll be doing some hands on exploring of engineering and physics.

World of Goo is available for the Mac, Windows, Linux and the Wii. You can get a free demo to try it out. If you like it it only costs $20 USD to buy. It is appropriate for kids 10 and up, but be warned, you’ll likely be competing with your kids over whose turn it is to play.

Goodwill Industries representatives will deliver the dollhouse at 2 pm, Wednesday July 15th, to the Boys & Girls Club’s Main Branch at 801 N. 18th Avenue in Pasco.

Goodwill Industries provides job training and support programs that benefit thousands each year. In addition, the local agency works closely with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties to provide new or gently used toys, furniture and career clothes for teen members hoping to enter the job world.

The Caring Corners dollhouse is a great fit for the Boys & Girls Club mission to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to become productive, caring and responsible citizens. The dollhouse is for youth ages 3 and older and helps support caring, sharing and preparing young people for real responsibilities.

Ramos, who is an active member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties and was also recently recognized as the 2009 elementary-age Youth of the Year, will now travel to Little Rock, Arkansas, and Washington D.C. with 24 other youth board members.

Ramos will fly out for the first of two in-person board meetings on Wednesday, July 15th, from the Tri-Cities airport at 11:15 a.m. The second meeting takes place in January 2010. All expenses are paid by the alliance for the members and one parent or guardian.

As a board member, Ramos will also join monthly conference calls to take care of business and serve as an ambassador of the Alliance for Healthier Generation in the media, at meetings, conferences and in her community. She will also provide feedback on the healthier kids movement and campaign and lead a service-based community project related to health in the Tri-Cities area.

Since 2005, the Alliance has been working to create an on-air, online and grassroots movement to reach millions of kids with “cool” messages about healthy living. The goal is to battle childhood obesity, increase physical activity in youth and empower young people to make an impact on their peers and communities.

More than 400 applicants, who range in age from 8 to 17, applied for board positions.

For more information visit: http://www.healthiergeneration.org

The Pasco Police Department credits the Boys & Girls Club’s Teen Center with helping to reduce the number of juvenile crimes in the area, as well as graffiti and gang activity. Studies have shown that teens are most susceptible to peer pressure and crime during the hours between 3 and 8 pm. Providing juveniles with a safe and positive place to go is instrumental in changing behavior and subsequently changing the lives of youth.
Thanks to Taco Bell franchisee supporters at the Columbia Bells, CLC Restaurants, Pacific Bells and Harman Management—which are located in Yakima and the Tri-Cities—your local Boys & Girls Club will be able to serve more teens and provide fun activities and programs that help shape teens into productive, caring and responsible citizens.
More than 90% of the Club’s teen members, who range in age from 12-18, are from low-income households. It is not unusual for youth members to have parents who did not graduate from college or even high school.

“Taco Bell is committed to making communities stronger,” said Ken Langel, the President of the Yakima/Tri-Cities Taco Bell Association. “And through our relationship with the Boys & Girls Club, we are proud to participate in a program that supports a community’s greatest asset—its youth.”

The money raised from the 2008 holiday fundraiser is almost $3,000 more than last year’s event. Taco Bell representatives will present a check in the amount of $10,118 to Boys & Girls Club teen members and the assistant teen center director during a Dust Devils game on Friday June 26th. Teen members will have a chance to go on the field between innings to receive the check along with enjoying a baseball game in their local community.

“We count Taco Bell and its customers as Partners for Success,” said Greg Falk, President of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties. “Even though tweens and teenagers like to act independent, they need positive guidance and support, especially if they have no adult role models in their homes. We provide youth with access to technology, sports programs and expose them to job skills like resume building and interviews so that we can prepare them for life. But we couldn’t provide these activities and impact kids without support from people at Taco Bell and their customers.”

According to the Silent Epidemic Report released in March 2006:
• Every 29 seconds in the U.S., one high school student drops out. That’s more than 1 million high school students a year.
• Dropouts are more likely than high school graduates to be unemployed, in poor health, living in poverty, prison, or on public assistance.
• More than 80% of drop outs said their chances of staying in school would have increased if classes were more interesting and provided opportunities for real-world learning.
• Two-thirds of drop outs left school because they did not have guidance or a positive mentor.
An independent report published for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America found that:
• Nationally, 16% of all students do not go on to graduate from high school, while only 8% of Boys & Girls Club alumni did not finish.
• Nationally, 21% of African American males do not go on to graduate from high school, while only 2% of Boys & Girls Club African American males did not finish.
• Overall, 26% of Boys & Girls Clubs alumni earned a 4-year college degree. This rate is equal to the national benchmark, a remarkable achievement since many Club members come from disadvantaged circumstances.
• 34% of African American Boys & Girls Club male alumni earned a 4-year college degree, compared to the national rate of 16%.
• Overall, Boys & Girls Club alumni mirror the national average for high school graduation and college achievement.

About the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens
The Taco Bell Foundation, a non-profit 501c3 corporation, has donated more than $18 million to support teen programs at Boys & Girls Clubs of America since 1995, with the help of on-going customer, franchisee and employee donations. As the largest supporter of teens at Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), TBF is focused on addressing the growing number of high school dropouts in the U.S. by providing at-risk youth with mentors and real-world experiences that will motivate them to stay in school and achieve more in life. The Taco Bell Foundation funds national teen programs at Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide that encourage volunteerism, career planning and college exploration. For more information about the Taco Bell Foundation, visit www.tacobell.com

Boys & Girls Clubs strive to provide a safe and positive place for youth with programs and activities that are fun and unique. The primary focus is to help kids become productive, caring and responsible citizens through our 5 core programs. One of those programs is Health & Life Skills, where youth ages 5-18 learn to achieve healthy, active lifestyles.

The grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation will allow the Club to serve youth from across the Tri-Cities for summer camp which is offered the week of June 15th through August 21st.

Summer Day Camp is available for 5-12 year olds. Activities at the Main Branch include a 25-station computer lab, full-size gym, game room with pool tables, foosball, ping pong and air hockey, art studio, music room, field trips and more!

A Kids Café and kitchen allow for proper preparation and handling of snacks and meals, which are USDA approved.

Youth ages 13-18 are able to attend our summer Teen Center program, located at 333 W. Court Street in Pasco. Teen Center transportation arrangements are supported by Ben Franklin Transit.

On Friday May 22^nd 2009, eight members of the Boys & Girls Club Main Branch were taken on a tour of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. The members have been yearlong participants of the Power Hour Program and have worked hard this year to keep their grades up and be successful in school. The kids were give a guided tour of Whitman College and were able to have any and all questions about college answered by their own personal tour guide.

After the tour of Whitman College the members were taken to Whitman Mission where they were able to walk through some of Washington’s history. Not only did they learn a lot but they had a great time walking around the old mission and listening to the tales of the Whitman’s and their struggles!

Six Livingston Elementary School Boys & Girls Club members have formed a new Torch Club named “Nickerdoodles” in memory of past member Nicole Woodbury.  Torch Clubs are chartered small-group leadership and service clubs through the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.  The Nickerdoodles have been a part of many great things this year, but their largest project has been one driven at benefiting our local Benton-Franklin Humane Society.  A donation drive bringing in an assortment of toys, collars, over 250 pounds of food, a cash donation as well as handmade toys and homemade dog treats were presented by the Nickerdoodles and employees of Kohl’s Department Store to the Humane Society on May 20^th, 2009 at 3:30pm.

The Nickerdoodles and Kohl’s employee’s baked Dog Biscuits prior to the visit and were able to feed each animal a biscuit upon their arrival.  Each child paired with an adult also had the opportunity to walk a dog around the campus.  Many of the dogs walked the kids, but they still had fun!  Once a month, Kohl’s employees volunteer their time to charitable organizations and they couldn’t have picked a better month than one where kids work together benefitting animals in our community.