Boys & Girls Club Recognizes Youths, New Board Member

The Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club named its February Youth of the Month award-winners last week and announced its newest board member, all of whom share a passion for serving people in need.

Aliyah Stone, 11, and Brianna Cruz, 8, were chosen as Senior and Junior Youth of the Month, respectively. Stone hopes to pursue a career in counseling and Cruz wants to go into nursing.

Stone is a sixth-grader at Finley Middle School. She plays basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball, pool and air hockey, and enjoys spending time in the school's computer lab. She said she values her experience at the Club because it provides a good mix of social time and responsibility.

“The Club is a great place to be! It allows me to have fun with my friends but I’m glad the staff is there to help me with my homework," she said.

Cruz is a third-grader at Connolly Elementary School who plays the violin, practices ballet and has an interest in fine arts and Earth Science. She also enjoys playing basketball. 

"At the Club I am able to learn ballet and paint all kinds of projects! I also enjoy doing scientific experiments with my friends in Earth Club,” she said.

The Club's newest board member, Nicholas Miller Berens, is a specialist in developmental disabilities and behavioral analyses. He is a founding director of Fit Learning in Locust Valley, and has spent more than 10 years developing the Fit Learning Method, a combination of applied behavior analysis, precision teaching, direct instruction, curriculum-based measurement and relational frame theory. He holds a doctoral degree in psychology and is an adjunct professor in the Department of Special Education at LIU-C.W. Post campus.

"As a new board member, I am excited about sharing my experience of working with children and giving them the confidence they need to become better students. I am committed to giving kids like Aliyah and Brianna the tools to accomplish everything they want in life. I am very grateful to be in a position of sharing my expertise and empowering the children of the Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club,” Berens said in a statement.

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