PROGRAMS

The Boys & Girls Club experience nurtures young people’s well-being and helps them reach their full potential through one-on-one relationships with caring adult professionals and fun, age-appropriate, well-rounded programming. What are the hallmarks of overall programming excellence in Clubs? What makes Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national programs so effective? Our programs:

Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Programs

CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Programs in this Core Program Area empower youth to support and influence their Club and community, sustain meaningful relationships with others, develop a positive self-image and good character, participate in the democratic process and respect their own and others’ cultural identities.

Youth of the Year
Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s premier youth recognition program promotes and celebrates Club members’ service to Club, community and family; academic performance; spiritual values; life goals; poise and public speaking ability. The Youth of the Year program is a year-round tool for fostering the personal growth and leadership qualities of young people ages 14-18.

TEENSupreme® Keystone Clubs
Keystone Clubs are chartered small-group leadership and service clubs 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.

Torch Clubs
Torch Clubs are chartered small-group leadership and service clubs for boys and girls ages 11-13. Torch Club members elect officers and work together to plan and implement activities in four areas: service to Club and community, education, health and fitness, and social recreation.

EDUCATION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Programs in this Core Program Area enable youth to become proficient in basic educational disciplines, set goals, explore careers, prepare for employment and embrace technology to achieve success in a career.

Project Learn: The Educational Enhancement Program
Project Learn reinforces and enhances the skills and knowledge young people learn at school during the hours they spend at the Club. Through this comprehensive program strategy, staff use all the areas and programs in the Club to create fun opportunities for "high-yield learning." Club members ages 6-18 engage in leisure reading, writing activities, discussions with knowledgeable adults, helping others, homework help and tutoring and games such as Scrabble that develop their critical thinking skills. Project Learn also emphasizes parent involvement and collaboration between Club staff and school personnel. Formally evaluated by Columbia University, Project Learn has been proven to boost the academic performance of Club members.

B&GCA also offers other educational enhancement programs. Goals for Graduation introduces academic goal setting to Club members ages 6-15. POWER HOUR helps Club members ages 6-12 be more successful in school by providing homework help and tutoring and encouraging members to become self-directed learners. The Ultimate Journey environmental education program leads Club members ages 6-12 on a fun-filled journey into the beautiful and amazing world of plants and animals.

JOB READY!
JOB READY! prepares Club members ages 15-18 to enter into and be successful in the world of work. Club staff can use the program’s comprehensive materials and assessment tools to tailor JOB READY! to meet their members’ specific needs. Teens learn how to identify job opportunities, write effective resumes, perform well in interviews, dress appropriately, develop good work habits and get along well with others in the workplace.


B&GCA’s Career Prep family includes several other programs. In Career Explorers Club, Club members ages 13-15 become familiar with the working world and explore career options and their educational/training requirements. Goals for Growth teaches Club members ages 8-12 skills for setting and achieving goals and helps them identify their own strengths. CLUBService provides AmeriCorps education awards to Club members ages 17 and 18 and Club alumni ages 19-24 who serve their Clubs and communities. Junior Staff Career Development assists members ages 11-18 in exploring a career in youth or human services, particularly Boys & Girls Club work. The Web-based CareerLaunch program helps young people ages 13-18 assess their skills and interests, make sound educational decisions, explore careers and prepare for the world of work.

Skill Tech: A Club Tech Basic Skills Program
Skill Tech is a comprehensive basic computer skills curriculum for Club members ages 6-18 featuring fun, hands-on and age-appropriate lessons for four age groups. Rather than learning by rote all the functions of various software programs, participants perform activities toward the completion of larger projects, mastering valuable computer skills along the way.

HEALTH AND LIFE SKILLS
Programs in this area develop young people’s capacity to engage in positive behaviors that nurture their own well-being, set personal goals and live successfully as self-sufficient adults.

SMART Moves (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training)
This nationally acclaimed prevention program helps young people ages 6-15 resist alcohol, tobacco and other drug use and premature sexual activity. The program’s interactive small-group activities increase participants' peer support, enhance their life skills, build resiliency and strengthen leadership skills. SMART Moves encourages collaborations among Club staff, youth, parents and representatives from other community organizations.

B&GCA’s Health and Life Skills program family also features SMART Leaders, a two-year peer leader/booster program for teens 14-16, and Family Advocacy Network (FAN Club), which provides leadership, educational and social activities and individual support for parents and caregivers of SMART Moves participants. SMART Girls is a health, fitness, prevention/education and self-esteem enhancement program for girls ages 8-17. Passport to Manhood promotes and teaches responsibility and reinforces positive behavior in male Club members ages 11-14. Act SMART is an HIV/AIDS prevention program for Club members ages 6-17. Street SMART counteracts the negative lures of gangs, violence and "street" influences on young adolescents ages 11-13.

Phenomenal Girls
Developed by Tonya Newell, a staff member at the Club. Phenomenal Girls is a 2 time award winning program. It focuses on girls from the ages of 12 and above. The girls meet each week to discuss topics that they deal with every day. Some of the topics include: teenage pregnancy, STD's, eating disorders, date rape, drugs, binge drinking, domestic violence and much more. During the summer, the girls wear a pregnancy vest for 6 hours during the day and they take home a computerized baby for the weekend. At this time, the club has 5 babies and 3 pregnancy profiles that they make use of. For more information on this program, please contact Tonya Newell at 919-776-3525.

Child Safety and Protection
Developed with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, this program helps Clubs ensure the safety and protection of children through training for Club professionals and volunteers, a skill development and safety awareness curriculum for Club members ages 6-13, peer leader involvement, as well as parent and community awareness and participation.

THE ARTS
Programs in this area enable youth to develop their creativity and cultural awareness through knowledge and appreciation of the visual arts, crafts, performing arts and creative writing.

Fine Arts Exhibit Program
This year-round program encourages artistic expression among Club members ages 6-18 through drawing, painting, print making, collage, mixed media and sculpture displayed at local and regional exhibits. A panel of distinguished judges selects works for inclusion in the National Fine Arts Exhibit.

ImageMakers: National Photography Program
This year-round program and annual contest encourages girls and boys ages 6-18 to express themselves in creative and unusual ways through black-and-white and color photography. The photography contest provides local recognition and national awards.

SPORTS, FITNESS AND RECREATION
Programs in this area develop fitness, positive use of leisure time, skills for stress management, appreciation for the environment and social skills.

Nike Sports Program
This program includes the following components for Club members ages 6-18: Six different Nike Daily Challenges provide fun and fitness benefits for Club members ages 6-18 throughout the year. Nike Games are inter-Club sports competitions in which four or more local Boys & Girls Clubs teams assemble to play soccer, basketball, minisoccer, volleyball, softball, street hockey or track and field. Nike SWOOSH Clubs are teen leadership groups that promote physical fitness, sports and potential athletics-related careers and serve as volunteers in their Clubs’ athletic programs.

FITNESS AUTHORITY®
FITNESS AUTHORITY® promotes fitness in youth through three 12-week curricula: Fitness Squad (ages 6-9), Fitness Masters (ages 10-14) and Fitness All-Stars (ages 15-18). Participants also compete in a Club-wide Fitness Pentathlon and are ranked by state and region. Top-ranking competitors advance to Regional Heptathlons and the National Decathlon.

SPECIALIZED PROGRAM INITIATIVES
These initiatives or programs focus on meeting significant, specific needs that have been identified within the Boys & Girls Club Movement. Because their scope is broad, they relate to several or all of the Core Program Areas.

TARGETED OUTREACH
This community-based program provides training, resources and technical assistance to Clubs and their community partners to keep young people ages 6-18 from becoming involved in gangs and delinquency. The program’s intervention component helps youth who are already involved with gangs to leave that lifestyle. The program’s reintegration component helps youth who have served time in correctional facilities make successful transitions into society. The program uses community partnerships, recruitment strategies, customized programming and case management tools that direct young people to positive alternatives.

The Diversity Initiative
This initiative aims to teach young people and youth development professionals to promote and celebrate diversity and combat and prevent prejudice, bigotry and discrimination. Based on the Anti-Defamation League’s highly successful A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE program, the initiative features three components. In staff training, Club professionals examine their own biases and learn how to facilitate discussions about prejudice and discrimination and help young people develop a greater awareness of and respect for others. A Youth Service Activity Guide helps foster a greater understanding and appreciation for diversity among Club members ages 6-12. Peer training prepares teens to teach their fellow Club members and others about dealing with diversity and discrimination.

Club Tech
This ambitious, five-year initiative will provide all Boys & Girls Clubs with state-of-the-art software; programs and program materials that will help professionals teach basic computer skills; technology to enhance existing programs; and extensive, ongoing training for Club professionals.

Why are these programs important?

• Meet members’ interests as well as their needs
  Clubs are youth-centered, engaging members in program planning. They ask members about their interests and provide them with opportunities to pursue those interests. Experienced Club professionals know that interest-based programs attract youth to the Club and give them the fun and sense of belonging they seek. Once young people become active members, Club staff can then involve them in programs designed to address youth needs and help members develop the skills and attributes to succeed in life.
  
  
• Build on members’ strengths
  Club professionals believe in the untapped potential of each boy and girl who walks through the Club’s door. They look for each child’s unique talents, qualities and abilities, then build on those strengths and employ them in addressing young people’s needs. This is the essence of our Movement’s Youth Development Strategy: enhancing young people’s self-esteem by instilling in them a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence.
  
  
• Are staffed by qualified, caring adult professionals
  Every local Boys & Girls Club is managed by a full-time executive director and staffed by full-time and part-time professionals. These dedicated youth development professionals work alongside carefully selected volunteers to not only offer a high-quality program for all Club members, but also provide them with personal assistance, guidance and emotional support. The Boys & Girls Club Movement is strongly committed to the professional development of its workers, providing myriad training and continuing education opportunities to ensure that staff members have the skills and knowledge they need to serve their communities’ young people well.
  
  
• Provide members with challenging, interesting activities
  Clubs offer activities that allow members ages 6-18 to explore all kinds of interests and nurture their cognitive, social, physical and emotional development. The well-known 1997 Safe Havens study conducted by Public/Private Ventures found that effective youth-serving organizations provide youth with seven key developmental building blocks. Boys & Girls Clubs provide all seven of these supports and opportunities through the programs and activities they offer in five core areas:
  • character and leadership development
    
  • education and career development
    
  • health and life skills
    
  • the arts
    
  • sports, fitness and recreation
    
  
  
• Promote learning and healthy development throughout the Club experience
  Clubs actively and artfully combine interest- and needs-based programs to achieve positive outcomes for youth. Thus, members hone their math skills preparing recipes in the Club kitchen, develop tolerance and character playing team sports in the gym, master computer software in the art program and practice conflict resolution in the games room. The 2000 Stanford University study, Community Counts, found that the most effective youth-serving organizations are intentional learning environments in which young people gain invaluable academic and life skills. This principle has always been central to the success of the best Boys & Girls Club programs.
  
  
• Focus on achieving specific outcomes
  Clubs know they must be able to demonstrate program effectiveness in terms of specific, measurable outcomes, or benefits, for their members. These Clubs carefully plan and implement their programs to achieve clearly defined objectives. They use the Movement’s overall Youth Development Outcomes to guide their own program planning, implementation and evaluation efforts. When young people leave our Clubs at age 18, we want them to have:
  
  • apposite self-identity;
    
  • educational, employment, social, emotional and cultural competencies;
    
  • community and civic involvement;
    
  • health and well-being; and
    
  • a moral compass.
    
  
  
• Are carefully researched, designed and field-tested
  Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s proven approach to program development results in high-quality programs that work well for Clubs and their members. Development of a new program typically starts with a review of relevant professional literature and consultation with an expert interdisciplinary advisory committee to determine the program’s objectives and content. The program is then designed to complement the developmental characteristics and learning styles of the target group of young people. Select Clubs then field-test the program with members to determine how well the program works. B&GCA incorporates field-test feedback to refine the program’s design and materials and provide Clubs nationwide with the best possible new program.
  
  
• Are continually assessed and evaluated
  Both local Club organizations and the national organization undertake different types of program assessment and evaluation efforts to determine their effectiveness in achieving desired outcomes for youth, improve program quality and implementation practices and garner support from funding sources and key stakeholders. B&GCA supports Clubs in this area by providing them with training, consultation and tools such as Commitment to Quality and the Youth Development Outcome Measurement Tool Kit. B&GCA also invests significant dollars in rigorous process and/or outcome evaluations of national programs. These studies provide clear, unequivocal evidence of program effectiveness. Three notable examples:
  • A 1991 Columbia University evaluation showed that public housing sites with Boys & Girls Clubs, when compared to public housing sites without Boys & Girls Clubs, experienced 13 percent fewer juvenile crimes, 22 percent less drug activity and 25 percent less crack presence.
    
  • The findings of the 30-month Columbia University study of Project Learn, B&GCA’s educational enhancement program, published in 1998, demonstrated an 11 percent increase in the grade point average of participants and cited a 15 percent difference in comparison to the GPAs of non-Club members.
  • A two-year evaluation of B&GCA’s GANG prevention/intervention through targeted outreach approaches showed that Club participation improved the lives of youth at risk of gang involvement and youth already in gangs. More frequent Club attendance resulted in 1) delayed onset of or disengagement from gang behaviors, 2) less contact with the juvenile justice system and 3) improved school outcomes.

Character and Leadership:

 Torch Club has continued at both sites.

Education and Career Development:

The education department at both sites have been working on ways to keep the minds of the members going even while they are not in school. A lot of different educational games have been played and the members really enjoy them. Some of the games were Dramatic Adverbs, and various guessing games. Hooked on Phonics is still being conducted one to two times a week. Power Hour is conducted M-T every week.

The Arts:

In art, the club members participated in a variety of different art projects.  Some of the different activities included Charcoal Pastels projects named Still Life. They made a God’s Eye project using Popsicle sticks. They also did knitting projects, collages, coloring contest, and finger painting.

Health and Life Skills:

The Smart Kids started back up after the Post Test, and they have been discussing Safety on Bikes, What Special Means to You, Things That Make Me Happy, and Keeping Our Club Strong. Phenomenal Girls Circle runs every Friday afternoon for girls age 12-18 with parental permission.

 Sports and Fitness:

Members are continuing to participate in the weekly Fitness Fun meetings.  They have been learning the rules of different sports, and they have also been playing them. They have also been talking about keeping their bodies in good condition. They have also been discussing Personal Hygiene.

Recreation:

In the games room, club members had the opportunity to participate in several different tournaments. Some of the tournaments were Foosball Tournaments, Pool Tournaments, and Connect Four Tournaments. The members also had contests of working as a team to put together puzzles. The staff teaches sportsmanship, fair play, and teamwork during the times that the activities are being implemented. Some of the highlight games were musical chairs, Pictionary, and a Pre Talent Show. Members have also been practicing step. Other recreational games included board games such as Uno, Monopoly, and other games.

Special and Upcoming Events: