Community Uplift: Christina demonstrates how communities can work together to improve outcomes for young people.

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3:03New Money Making Conversations Masterclass episodes drop daily. I want to keep you on alert because my guests provide tips on how you can uplift your community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Now let's get this podcast started. My guest is the Chief Executive Officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Patterson and Parsake, New Jersey. They currently serve more than 1400 children and teens per day in both Patterson and Parsake through academic, athletic, and artistic programs, both after school and during summer camp. She understands the critical role she plays in supporting youth on their journeys through great futures. Please work with the Money Making Conversations Masterclass Dr. Christina Duques Brown. How you doing, Dr. Brown? I'm doing well. Thank you for having me. Okay, cool. I'm familiar with New York area, New Jersey area. It was up there with Steve Harvey doing WBLS 107.5 for many years.

4:03So tell us about the New Jersey community that you're supporting. Sure. So New Jersey is my home. I grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey. And so the towns that I currently support Patterson and Parsake are very similar to the town that I grew up in. New Jersey is filled with a whole lot of different types of people, but more than likely the towns where I'm serving, we are working more with Latinx and black communities. So what we found is that many of these families are struggling and finding the resources that they need to just live. There's a high homelessness population. There's so many food deserts that are around us. And our club is really working to support those families who have those types of needs. So many of the children who are going to school are struggling at the numbers and Patterson are about 20% are literate and about another 15% are performing at or above proficiency and math.

5:09And the results are pretty much the same and Pasek. And so the club works really hard to partner with schools to provide after school support to children to make sure that they're getting essential resources for homework completion and tutoring. Our club is open Monday through Saturday to support families for that purpose. We also have a lot of partners who assist us with providing nutritious food to our club members and to make sure that we are a space where children can come and have like a really good time. So they're being fed here. They're getting support academically here and they're having fun while they do it. And we're really proud of that and how we support the communities that we serve. First of all, that was a great opening speech. You get a big check mark there for me because you laid it out for me because I just need to understand that when people in your position, you see the struggle every day.

6:09I've always wondered how do you, how do you get up out of bed or even go to sleep knowing that that struggle may look the same the next day. And you represent a very accomplished organization like the boys and girls club of Patterson and Pasek. So I, I'm very motivated to support my community. It's important that I am a part of the system that creates a better world for my children and my children's children. And I can't complain about the position of black and brown people in society. If I'm not going to do the work necessary to support its elevation. And so I, it's hard to, you know, get to sleep at night for sure because you're constantly thinking about what's next and what you must do. And I am motivated to jump out of bed every morning to come and support these communities. Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more money making conversations.

7:09Masterclass, not need for you to do me a favor. Right now, you'll follow or subscribe to money making conversation. It's free. And you can find it on the iHard Radio app, Spotify, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Please do me that favor. Follow or subscribe. Money making conversations. Welcome back to money making conversation. Masterclass hosted by me, Rishan McDonald. Let's get back into it. I know that it takes a real village. I like I said I grew up in Jersey City. I was in the 80s and you can imagine what Jersey City was and what it became during the crack, you know, era. And so I understand that being this resource to these particular families is essential to their survival. And I do need to be a part of solving the problem and not complaining about it. Well, here's the beauty of this conversation. You reside on the East Coast was this densely populated with African American and people of color.

8:15You know, so I'm assured the boys and girls club accepts volunteers. Correct. That is correct. We love volunteers. Okay, Dr. Brown. Let's first of all put out a contact number for volunteers to get that number start writing that down. This is going. This is a call to action interview. Yeah, I love it. And this interview is about trying to support young people. And it's not about the administration that's in now. It's not about the administration that's left. It's about our community. My community got me where I am today. You know, I didn't get into extra dollars from from the government or anything. My community supported me. It was the village. And I'm calling on the village to support what you're trying to do and those two communities. So what's that contact number? Let's get that out the way first. Sure. So the phone number here at the club is 973 279 3055. And you can come to our website at www.bgcppinj.org. Now, if they come to their website and call you, what do you want them to call you about?

9:18So there are a couple of initiatives that we are in process of delivering to our club members. The first, which we're super excited about, is a program called Girls with Goals. And essentially what we found out was that many of our teenage female club members felt like they wanted to go to college and better themselves and all of that. But mostly they wanted to start their own businesses. And so we responded to their need and their requests by creating this, this, this amazing 10 week program where we have business owners, women of color who are business owners coming in and mentoring and sharing their experiences with the young ladies and making sure that they understand that, you know, there is, there's, there's ebbs and flows to owning your own business and helping them to figure out how to create a business proposal and how to pitch it. To the appropriate people to get the funding that they need. And so that's one of the things that we're really excited about and we're hosting our empowerment, where the young ladies who've been a part of the program along with many of the mentors and their business coach will come together to sort of celebrate the work that they've been doing throughout this time.

10:31And to prepare them for their perfect pitch, which is the following weekend, where the girls will share their business proposals with a team of sharks, so to speak and essentially decide who sort of wins the grand prize, who's in second and third place. And a part of, you know, the work that we did with this girls with goals program will ultimately be used as a catalyst to doing this, not just with our club houses, but club houses all across America. So we're excited about that. Because it's like coast to coast organization, the boys and girls club. Correct. Yeah. Yeah. Military bases, all of that. Yeah. So let's give us an education about it. You know, the boys and girls club because there are a lot of organization that do similar functions, but we're talking about your organization. Give us more specifics and how you impact and what age group and also gender. Sure. So we obviously started as the boys club, but over the years figured out that the young ladies needed the same outlets for support as young men. And so obviously expanded to accept girls into the club house.

11:39And a lot of the work that we do is about building character and young people building, you know, efficacious spirits and young people, providing them, like I said, with the academic supports that they need. And then giving them creative outlets. So we offer dance and, you know, we have a musical that where we'll be performing next spring. And then, you know, our sports programs and our swim program. I just have to tell you that our Aquatics program is out of this world. I was at a swindie on Saturday. And these kids are fish in water. Like there was no competition. Destroy the stereotype. Destroy the stereotype. Absolutely. Completely destroyed obliterated. They are amazing swimmers. And our Aquatics director is amazing at what he does. And what we are, you know, most excited about our brand is that. You know, we are, and it's important that children learn how to swim.

12:42Anything can happen at any point in time. And sometimes, you know, programs like ours forget that basic skills must be taught to. And so the work that we're doing in our Aquatics program is is bar. It's like top tier. They're they're absolutely amazing. So, yeah, we want to make sure that we're doing all these great things to support. And Dr. Brown, because you're dealing with a lot of stereotypes, you know, people see black youth on television with music and clothes and, you know, music stereotypes are youth. What are the some of the biggest stereotypes that you have to change in order for these kids to win moving forward? That's a great question. I think the stereotypes are that. So there's a concept called deficit ideology. And essentially what it means is that if you are poor, lower class, if you are, you know, minority, then you do not have the capacity to even be successful inside of like a professional setting.

13:51And I think that is the greatest challenge that we're up against is helping our kids understand that no matter where you come from. And no matter what you look like, no matter what skin you show up and you have the capacity to become great. And you and and I think too that we have to figure out ways to affirm our young people who come to us with their own brand of skills that we don't often talk about. So we want them to be great mathematicians and scientists and all of that, but there are some children who come to us who are amazing at just having the soft skills that are necessary to connect with people. Some people come to us and you know, they have the ability to articulate a point in a way that other people can understand. And I think we have to help to affirm those skills just like the others so that young people can be confident in who they are. And again, continue to build the efficacious spirit that we all need to be successful. I'm talking to Dr. Brown, okay, you know, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Patterson and Parsake New Jersey.

14:58And we make it happen because now we talked about community calling you now we're going to talk about these corporations offering internship program. So this is called an action right now, East Coast, East Coast is for different calls. So give out that number right now again, Dr. Brown. Yes, we call it on the corporations to call you and go to your website to help these youth, but tell them the age of these youths right now. Yep, we are working with children from ages five to 25. There you go. Give it a give out that phone number and that website right now. We're going to continue after you give it out. Absolutely phone number is 973 279 3055 and our website is www.bgcppnj.org. Stay with us more money making conversation masterclass coming up next. Chad GPT can do more than answer questions. It can help you get real work done. Chad GPT work is built for bigger projects with multiple steps. You bring the goal along with the information it needs, like notes, files, customer feedback, calendars, project plans or data.

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17:12Who will you trust? Your friends and neighbors? Who will you trust the people five miles overseas? This is a story about neighbors turning on each other. And what happens when a forgotten place decides it's had enough. We reached for a feeling that exists in this city. But we're not stopping early. I'm Ben, that of Half-Rate. And for my new series on revisionist history, I took a deep dive in the Staten Island's attempt to secede from New York City in the 1990s. And what it all has to do with the politics of resentment that dominate America today. Listen to revisionist history, the Staten Island problem on the I Heart Radio app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to Money Making Conversations Masterclass hosted by me, Roshan McDonnell.

18:12Money Making Conversations Masterclass continues online at moneymakingconversations.com and follow Money Making Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, X and Instagram. Now, I'm a person, I'm successful. Do you bring people like me and to talk to the students and what role can people like me play and what you're trying to do for these students in Patterson and Posseck, New Jersey for the Boys and Girls Club? Yes. We need people like you to come in and mentor some of our young people. We run programming. Like I said, like girls with goals where you know about to institute a program called Real Talk for young men. And we need people like you to come in and share your experiences and share your story. I think one of the best motivating factors for most young people is being able to look into the eyes of a person who looks like them, who have a similar background and makeup as them. And then for them to learn that, yeah, I made it even though I showed up in this package and be able to share the stories.

19:14Like the one you just shared about growing up with, you know, not all the things that you might want, but having the things that you need and using those things to drive your success. Showing them the game plan to how they can sort of escape some generational poverty and things like that. That's exactly what we want. We want people who will come in and provide that type of support to our young people. Okay, y'all hear that. You hear the community. You hear the community. She needs you. You hear corporations or small companies entrepreneurs. She needs you. We try to change these kids. We're trying to buckle up within the community. Buckle up with the surrounding area. We're not trying to go to the government on this call. The government did not change Risham McDonald's life. People in the community change Risham McDonald's life. That's why we're doing this interview. Because I asked her earlier, why does she come on the show? She's Risham. I just want to get the word out. We're talking to the right person here. Now, thank you.

20:14You currently serve more than 1400 children and teens per day. This is a huge number. Talk about that. Talk about the program. We got to break this down now. You're not just doing 15 people a day. 1400. We have a clubhouse here in Patterson. We have another clubhouse in Pasek. We have 11 other alternate sites. We'll partner with schools so that the children are just coming out of school and coming directly into our programming in the afternoons. We start with Power Hour, which is homework, help, and support the children go into some of the activities that we do that are connected to the Boys and Girls Club curriculum. Then there's always something fun. They're always creating something, learning a new skill, playing a game, or doing something that has some joy. We'll say that. That's one of the ways that we're serving so many every day. On the weekends, we're open for Saturday, two to ring, so we're open from nine until three, providing the supports that some of our struggling learners need.

21:21Then using our resources to support our teenagers who might need an extra push as they're preparing to go to the next grade or go off to college or whatever they're choosing to do after that. We are running these types of programs six days a week. I am at this point interested in opening them seven days a week. We'll be opening two. I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to pray for you. You said Sunday. I'm going to pray for you now. Yes. Sunday is, you know, we want to make ourselves available to the community as often as a community has a need. The needs here are high and we want to make sure that we're responsive to that. You know, when you're talking about marginalized groups, you know, that we look at TV, the halving the halving knots. And then they tend to want to show the half is more than the halving knots because nobody wants to watch that on TV. You know, don't get good ratings. But it's to have knots that don't need us, the need access your role when you we talked about a little bit.

22:25Give us a little bit more about your background and how did you come into this position of being the CEO of the Barnes and Girls Club of Patterson and Parsake, New Jersey? Yes. So my first interaction with the Boys and Girls Club was in high school. I played basketball. Oh, you're a hooster. I am. Yeah. My job is crazy. I can't go to where you and Steven H. Smith, who I represent. I can not talk basketball with either you guys, but I will connect you up because he's up in New Jersey as well. I would love that. I would love that. So yeah, I would go there and play with friends and, you know, sort of sharpen my skills. And then there were parties and things for kids to do that our parents thought was safe. And so they allowed us to attend. And that's sort of like where I really began to understand the necessity and the importance of the club. But after graduating high school, I went to college down in Virginia, the great Virginia State University, and learned that I really wanted to be a teacher.

23:32And so when I graduated, I started teaching and from there went into the principal ship and then from there went into, you know, executive levels of education oversight and working mostly in charter schools. But what I learned from my educational background is that schools operating on their own will never provide all the things that children need. And so our club houses and our alternate sites are super necessary, they're super necessary in order for children to get the supports that they need. It's hard for a teacher with 30 kids in a classroom to be individualized in their approach. However, when they come to the clubhouse after school, where one to 15, there's another person in there and they're providing supports and it's necessary. Some of our kids would not know how brilliant they are if those supports were not there for them. So what is really important that you say that now because we have different supports and I'll be remiss because you said 25.

24:39Yeah, I went, okay, that ain't a boy or a girl no more. Okay, where's the boys and the girls club in the beginning because she said 25. So not to confuse my audience. Tell us about that up to 25. What does that mean? Right. So the boys and girls club of America has an initiative in place where they're trying to essentially provide the supports that young people between 18 and 24 that those folks need. Sometimes college is not in the cards for some people and we want to be able to help those young people figure out where their strengths and their gifts lie and be able to be and and give them the skills and the power really that they need to be additive to society. And so there is a complete focus at the clubs across the country to make sure that those folks who haven't quite figured out what it is that they want to do and what exactly their gifts are that we're there to support them in figuring that out. Okay, but but I'm happy out there because I like what you say, but how are you helping the boys at online tutoring? Is it do you have courses like you know because I know that we're in a society now that nobody's really jockeying for four years.

25:50For four year degrees like they used to. Was a certificate degrees. A lot of people want to go and junior colleges around or two year community college. There's an accelerate place as well as online education issues. How are you positioning and can they see this online at your website? So what we're doing is we're allowing for those young people to come and serve in different roles here so that they gain the professional skills that they need to go out and pursue whatever is next for them. Okay, so there's internship opportunities here. There's actual you know there's some of our you know 18 to 24 are providing supports to the younger children in the club houses and our alternate sites. And now what we're thinking to move this work forward is how can we partner with local organizations and other you know clubs like ours. To create a space where kids can learn let's say you know some of the blue collar skills that are you know necessary for society to function so whether that's automotive whether that's due to cosmetology or that type of stuff.

26:59We want to make sure that they are not only learning how to be a professional show up on time. Be dressed appropriately have the right types of conversations. And then that they have a skill that they can go back and use so that they can you know provide for themselves and their families. Well, you know another shout out you said you got a shout out number three local businesses local organizations like yours. Yeah, give it up. Give it that number one more time. 973 to 793055. That's what they're doing and you want to participate. Absolutely website. www.bgcppinj.org. Great. As we close out this interview Dr. Brown, thank you for coming on my show allowing me to be your bull home. Thank you for the exposure because this is there's many steps. I'm one of one leg you know I always tell people in order good quality marketing is there.

28:01People constantly see your brand people constantly hear your your claim to success or your needs or your call to action and you call an action to call the action the day for the community come for you. The action of the day is for corporations and small business entrepreneurs to come to you. The call to action the day is other organizations and churches that do similar programs to you what you're doing to come to you. But in the end, what are you really trying to accomplish in this interview and tell everybody what you need so we can get them fired up. Yes, Patterson and Possek New Jersey. Yes, so I need men and women who are business owners who can teach our young people the skills that they need to learn in order to become business owners themselves. I need men and women to come and support us as we are mentoring young people and making good choices and helping them to understand that every choice that they make there is an impact. It's going to be positive or negative so make the right one.

29:03Well, my friend, we've done our job. Okay, and I want to thank you for taking the time to come on my show to talk about the boys and girls club and more important to talk about you. Thank you. You know, the cold jump shot that cold jump shot that you see you got some skills tied to. I definitely still have skills. I love it. I love the confidence. Again, thank you for coming on Monday making conversation master class show. Thank you for listening to this episode. Now I need for you to do me a favor. Right now, you'll follow or subscribe to Monday making conversation. It's free. And you can find it on the iHartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Please do me that favor. Follow or subscribe, Monday making conversations. Keep winning. Chat GPT can do more than answer questions. It can help you get real work done. With chat GPT work, you bring the goal and the details. Like notes, files, feedback, calendars, project plans or data.

30:04Then it can help create things like a brief, tracker, analysis, deck outline or workflow. You stay in control by giving direction, reviewing the work and choosing the final result. Put chat GPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at chat GPT.com by selecting work mode available in plus and pro plans. Hey, it's the Shanty Plumber from FUTTEROUND and find out. Coming out of the draft, it's been a special time for us here at FUTTEROUND. I want to thank everyone from the fans to the sponsors, especially Geico. Not just for supporting AZ, but for showing up where it matters, like the business of Women's Sports Summit. That kind of thing really moves the needle. And now that AZ is starting a new life in Dallas, we don't know what next season is going to bring. But we know that we're all on the same team. And it's been amazing to feel the love and support. So keep showing up for our girl. Show for each other. Thanks to Geico and our listeners.