[Noozhawk’s note: Thanks for the comments about the photo. As you can see, it’s been removed.]
At the Westside Boys & Girls Club in Santa Barbara, Christmas Day was marred by unidentified graffiti vandals. But the club’s kids, led by Development Director Magda Arroyo, came together and turned a negative into a positive by spending a day covering up the paint.
The building, at 602 W. Anapamu St., and two Boys & Girls Club vans were vandalized Friday. Arroyo said it wasn’t the first time such vandalism has occurred.
“There are a couple businesses in town that have been tagged a lot, and we are going to remove the tags,” Arroyo said. “We joke around that we’re the ‘tag team’!”
The kids of the club were able to wash away the graffiti and come together in what turned out to be a great experience.
“Our motto is ‘a positive place for kids,’” said Arroyo, who has brought in 40 new youths in her three months at the Westside location. “I think that our graffiti removal really shows that we are trying to break down barriers.”
The police were notified, but there are no suspects.
Arroyo said she believes the vandalism was in retaliation of a zero-tolerance policy for gang members she implemented when she took over as development director. She also suspects that a visit last week from City Councilman Roger Horton and members of the Santa Barbara Police Department’s gang task force could have provoked local gang members.
The kids of the club spent about 30 minutes cleaning up the graffiti, and then stuck around to celebrate the holidays, proving that even acts of hate can sometimes bring people together in unexpected ways.
For Arroyo, it is just another example of how the Boys & Girls Club helps galvanize Santa Barbara’s youths.
“We are just really trying to show that we are community,” she said, “and that we encourage kids to reach higher goals.”
— Kevin McFadden is a Noozhawk contributor.