New Unit Advisory Council Announced for Madison Avenue Clubhouse

Wakeman Boys & Girls Club Madison Avenue Community Clubhouse (595 Madison Avenue) has launched a new Unit Advisory Council to build community support and integration, and to help ensure a healthy, happy and safe Clubhouse. The Council is composed of a diverse range of volunteers who have demonstrated a commitment to serving Wakeman Boys & Clubs and youth in the community, including:

·        Eileen Blees: Council Chair, Wakeman Boys & Girls Club Board of Trustees

·        Marjorie A. Cable: Principal, Geraldine Johnson Elementary School

·        Howard Kelly: Director, Webster Bank

·        William King: ESL Teacher and Freshman Boys Basketball Coach, Central High School

·        Patrick Parker: President, Eluvayt Inc.

·        Roderick Porter: Chief of Police, City of Bridgeport

·        Reginald St. Fortcolin: Conservation Outreach Manager, Aspetuck Land Trust

·        Najie Sumra: Principal, Allstate Insurance Agency

Through monthly meetings and regular collaboration with Carlos Collazo, the Unit Executive Director of the Madison Avenue Clubhouse, the Advisory Council will serve as Wakeman Boys & Girls Club ambassadors to the community at large and will help monitor and strengthen Wakeman’s programs and services. The Council follows a successful model already in place at the Smilow-Burroughs and Southport Club locations.   



The new Council has already helped to facilitate the Webster Bank/Wakeman Boys & Girls Club Finance Lab, a program created to provide students the skills needed for financial empowerment and future financial well-being, as well as the Keystone Club Teen Leadership Program and an urban farming initiative for Madison Avenue Clubhouse participants.

"Our Unit Advisory Council members are dedicated to youth development and fostering positive change in the North End/Hollow Communities and beyond. They have been instrumental in supporting initiatives centered around Financial Literacy, STREAM, and Teen Engagement. Together, these initiatives are making a difference for over 50 club members. We have also partnered up with Al's Millennium Academy of Hair to provide our club members with FREE haircuts bi-monthly," stated Carlos Collazo.

Eileen Blees, Chair of the Madison Avenue Clubhouse Unit Advisory Council, stated, “The Madison Avenue Community Clubhouse is incredibly fortunate to have this group of individuals so willing to join our Advisory Council. Their enthusiasm for all the great things that can be done in and for the community was evident from our very first meeting together.”

“They all see the arrival of the Madison Avenue Clubhouse as fulfilling a much-needed positive vision in the community. They see it as a beacon of hope for the neighborhood kids and their families. The Advisory Council members, including myself, recognize that so much good can happen here at the Club; and as Club Ambassadors, we all look forward to helping spread this hope and light throughout the community,” Blees added.