Boys & Girls Mentors Military Kids

From Muy Thai kickboxing basics to making cole slaw, from training to make the basketball team to learing multiplication tables early, the mentors at the San Clemente Boys and Girls Club are making a difference for kids from military families, club officials say.

Hosting about 90 kids and paid for by a grant, the mentoring program aims to provide support for children whose parents are deployed.

Wendy Casteel of the club said the program has run from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. every day since the beginning of summer and will continue through Aug. 31. The ages involved in the program range from 6 to 18, but the bulk of the kids seem to be between 8 and 10-years-old

Casteel said the children are split up into groups and go from station to station, creating Olympics posters, learning combat sport basics with instructors from the MMA gym's nonprofit, performing science experiments or cooking simple recipies.

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