CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Bethlehem, Winston Alozie says his ascent to the director's office of the club began more than 20 years ago, when he was a member. “As a young person, I enjoyed my time there with my other siblings and school friends. I eventually did my high school community service there,” he shares. “Through those interactions in the game room and assisting with homework help, I knew that I wanted to work with kids in a meaningful capacity.”
Alozie says the club has been a big part of his career ever since. “I started off as a junior staff programming assistant, then became a summer camp counselor and eventually the summer program coordinator for several years,” he says.
“I went off to college, graduated, worked at a couple of other agencies and came back to the Boys & Girls Club of Bethlehem as a programming director, working at the Southside Unit and at Broughal Middle School for a school-based program we ran there.” According to Alozie, all of those experiences were integral in preparing him to lead the organization now.
What does he love most about the organization? It's that they serve all children. “Many times, people see the club as a place solely for disadvantaged youth,” he says. “We most certainly do serve some of our community's most economically challenged and statistically ‘at risk' youth, but not only them. I love the fact that we provide opportunities for all kids to experience new things, make new friends and get a leg up in hopes to move forward in life.”
Alozie has been recognized for many honors and accomplishments over the course of his career, but he says he tries not to pay too much attention to that. Instead, he says he feels blessed with the opportunity to do what he does and to work with the great kids of the Bethlehem community. “I don't take it for granted, nor at all lightly, that people trust me with their children,” he says. “Because of that trust, I just see myself as someone who simply does a job that he loves with a great team.”
In his three years at the helm, Alozie says the club has seen increasing new members as well as retention of previous members, renewed and newly built partnerships. “[We] have been able to serve our kids and families in meaningful ways, especially during this pandemic,” he says. “We created, from scratch, a community classroom center last school year during the local school closures.” They've continued this program, dubbed “Community Classroom,” as part of their after-school offerings to help kids get their school work done with supportive adult supervision.
Alozie's vision for the future is to enhance opportunities for the club's kids, grow new experiences for them and replicate that success as often as they can.
Published as "Voices of the Valley" in the May 2022 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
