The five young teens who make up the first Girls Club at the Claude C. Brown YMCA are a fun and spunky group. They enjoy having discussions about everything &045; from who’s birthday is coming up to hard-hitting racial issues-all while enjoying each other’s company.

The Girls Club was established at the end of August to encourage community service and involvement.

The members meet every weekday after school at the Brown YMCA to hold group discussions, participate in various activities, have cheerleading practice, and do community outreach.

Today, for instance, the girls and their leader, Stephanie Oswald, are planning a visit to the Career Development Center to learn about the best ways to land and job and write a resume.

They also have plans to host a dance for other teen-agers on Oct. 10 as a way to raise money for a trip to the Alabama State University campus.

Oswald said the girls are hoping to attend an ASU game and watch the cheerleaders and dance team.

All of the other girls agree, saying they would be spending their after-school time at home watching television or being bored.

Oswald said the six girls will be the first cheerleading team the Brown YMCA has ever had, calling themselves the All Stars.

The girls plan to follow the Brown YMCA’s basketball games, but they also be putting more focus on community service.

Oswald said the girls will spend at least once a week doing various activities like visiting nursing home and cleaning up around the Brown YMCA to be more involved in their community.

Girls Club member Tangie Shaw said her favorite part about being the group is the Monday discussions they do every week.

The founding members of the Girls Club say they are hopeful to eventually get more teen-age girls involved in the group.