Korean Exchange Students Enjoy An American "Teen-age" Pizza Party

Boys & Girls Clubs Keystoners Host Our Sister City Anyang, Korea

Garden Grove, January 21, 2005 - The Garden Grove Sister City Association welcomed 10 students from Anyang, Korea for an 8-day visit to Garden Grove and surrounding cities. The students stayed with local host families and visited several points of interest throughout Orange and Los Angeles Counties. Part of their visit included a stop at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove.

Many of our Keystone United Club members quickly volunteered to attend this event claiming that it was one of their favorite activities that the Club participates in. Our teens welcomed the visiting teens at our Main Branch with pizza, button making supplies, and some basketball. The opportunity provided a little time for the visiting Koreans and the local Americans to interact with one another's culture.

"The Sister City gathering is always a fun event and the teens really seem to enjoy the experience," states Evelyn Gonzales Matua, Keystone Advisor and Director of Clinton Kids Club. "Everyone was checking out each other's style of clothing, taking pictures, and getting a glimpse into how life would be in another culture."

Also encouraged through the Garden Grove Sister City Association are educational programs for students, such as the pen pal program, conducted in grades 1 through 8 in the Garden Grove Unified School District. High school students have the opportunity to visit Anyang, Korea, and stay with Korean families and students. Scholarships are offered by the Sister City Association to help defray the cost of travel. Art, music, and performing arts exchanges are promoted throughout the year.
This year marks 8 years of the Boys & Girls Clubs participating in the Sister City program and we look forward to many more successful years.

To contact the Sister City Association of Garden Grove, please call (714) 530-9637. For general information about the Boys & Girls Clubs, please call (714) 530-0430 or visit our website’s about us section.

Keystone United Club is a chartered small-group leadership and service club for boys and girls ages 14-18. Keystoners elect officers and plan and implement their own activities in six areas; service to Club and community, leadership development, education and career exploration, unity, free enterprise and social recreation. Sponsored by the Taco Bell Foundation.

The Boys & Girls Clubs have played an integral role in the Garden Grove community for over 45 years, providing daily programs and services to over 2,500 young people. The Clubs are open daily with programs in character and leadership development, education and career enhancement, the arts, health and life skills, and sports, fitness and recreation.
The Sister City Association of Garden Grove strives to promote understanding of other cultures through education and exchange programs; to encourage interest in and a value for different cultures; to develop a process whereby Garden Grove residents have the means and opportunities to learn about and communicate with people from foreign countries.