Why A Boys and Girls Club? A Case for Support
In
every community, boys and girls are left to find their own recreation and companionship in the streets. An increasing number
of children are at home with no adult care or supervision. Young people need to know that someone cares about them.
Boys
& Girls Clubs offer that and more. Club programs and services promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by
instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence. At the Boys & Girls Club of Battle Creek we teach
and serve with one purpose:
“To inspire and enable young people to realize
their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.”
Boys
& Girls Clubs of America has a lineup of tested and proven nationally recognized programs that address today's most
pressing youth issues, teaching young people the skills they need to succeed in life. National programs are available in the
areas of education, the environment, health, the arts, careers, alcohol/drug and pregnancy prevention, gang prevention, leadership
development and athletics. The Boys and Girls Club of Battle Creek offers many programs under the areas listed above.
We
also pride ourselves in making sure that our Battle Creek location meets the national standard in providing:
·
A Safe Place…for those
who may be left alone after school or on the streets with no guidance. The Club is a safe place to play and a place safe enough
to be yourself.
·
Life-Enhancing Programs…that
can open young minds. The Boys & Girls Club exposes youth to new ideas and skills that prepare them for life. We teach
the importance of character in all of our programs.
· A Relationship with Caring, Trained Adults…the better the programs; the more children
we can attract; the more likely they will build a relationship with a caring adult; the more opportunity our Club can positively
influence the character of a child.
·
Hope and Opportunity…as
young people experience our Club; we become a place for hope. Hope leads to increased confidence and a brighter future.
Every
day professional staff and volunteers at the Boys & Girls Club of Battle Creek are faced with a daunting challenge: take
one day, one program, and one hour to help turn a life in the right direction. Keep a child engaged and eager to learn more.
Create a relationship that will have influence them for a lifetime. Each child that walks through our door has one unique
future. One may come from a loving, single-parent family. One may speak little English. One may not have a home. At the Boys
& Girls Club, it is our job to give each child a real sense of hope and opportunity. We work to bring out what’s
inside a child and we carry out our mission with care. We take it one child at a time.
The
Boys & Girls Club of Battle Creek has organized a committed group of staff and volunteers to deliver quality, proven programs
that instill a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence for the at-risk children and youth of our area.
THE NEED AND THE CASE:
After-school hours are a critical time for youth.
On a regular basis, 14 million children and teens are left unsupervised by adults after the school day ends. That time can
represent either an opportunity to learn and grow, through quality after-school programs, or a time of risk to youth's
health and safety.
Studies show, and law enforcement leaders know from experience that the
hours from 3 to 6 PM on school days are the "prime time for juvenile crime." The crimes that occur can be serious
and violent, including murders, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults. These are also the hours when kids are most likely
to become victims of crime; be in or cause a car crash (the leading cause of deaths for teens 16-17 years old); be killed
by household or other accidents; get hooked on cigarettes; engage in sexual behaviors; experiment with other dangerous drugs,
and the list goes on (Fight Crime Invest in Kids, 2008).
The good news is that after
school programs are now proven to greatly reduce the terrible prospect that children and teens will be caught up in behaviors
that can ruin their lives and devastate thousands of innocent families. Quality, constructive and highly supervised programs
can cut crime immediately and convert after school hours into safe learning time. Rigorous studies now show that quality after
school programs can:
·
reduce juvenile crime and
violence
·
Reduce drug use and addiction
·
Cut other risky behavior
like smoking and alcohol abuse
· Reduce teen sex and teen pregnancies
· Boost school success and high school graduation
There
are a number of studies that show the effectiveness of Boys and Girls Club programs across the country. In a study conducted
in several U.S. cities, five housing projects without Boys and Girls Clubs were compared to five receiving new clubs. By the
end of the study, the projects without the programs had 50% more vandalism and scored 37 percent worse on drug activity (Journal
of Community Psychology, 1992).
Studies going back over fifty years show Boys and Girls
Clubs can successfully reduce crime. One study showed that specialized club programs can effectively recruit
and retain children who are at high risk of becoming involved in gangs, and even youth who are already in gangs. The evaluation
of the anti-gang Boys and Girls Club anti-gang programs found that the high-risk children and teens in these clubs “showed
decreases in some gang and delinquent behaviors and were less likely to be sent away by the courts. They also exhibited positive
changes in their engagement or achievements in schools (2002, Public/Private Ventures).
This
is why there is such a critical need in our city for afterschool programs like those being offered at the Boys and Girls Club.
We know that issues such as teen violence, gangs, drugs, teenage sex, high school dropouts, larceny, etc., are a real challenge
for our community. If 5% or more of the youth population in the city (which would mean 780 youth out of
the possible 15,616 youth in Battle Creek in 2006) have been adjudged juvenile delinquents or an unusual or alarming number
of youth have come to the attention of the law enforcement officials during the year, it is case to open a Boys and Girls
Club. And in 2006, there were 820 youth, over 5% that were adjudged juvenile delinquents. The need is real.
HISTORY
AND MOVING FORWARD:
Given these statistics, and given the needs assessment
that was conducted in 2005-2006, community members knew that a Boys and Girls Club was sorely needed in our City. A Steering
Committee of interested citizens came together, and by November of 2006, the Boys and Girls Club of Battle Creek was able
to secure a significant start-up grant and officially opened its doors with a beginning membership of 106 young people. Within
months, the membership grew close to 1,000 through partnerships with other organizations, including the 21st Century
Learning Center. The Club enjoyed many initial and early successes. During its start-up year, attendance records were strong
with the Club being utilized by up to 102 students on weekdays after school with peak days of more than 250 during special
events visit the club. The Club also built effective collaborations and partnerships with 12 local organizations and institutions
serving youth and formed many relationships with local churches, schools, and other groups to support the efforts of the Club.
The Club was able to offer a broad range of youth development programs for youth ages 6-18 that model those set
forth by the Boys & Girls Club of America around: (a) Character and Leadership (b)
Education and Career (c) Health and Life Skills (d) the Arts; and (e) Sports, Fitness, and Recreation.
Although
the Club enjoyed some early successes, it was also faced with a number of challenges and growing pains, as with any new start-up.
Some of the challenges included capacity issues and a lack of experience by both leadership and the Board with a new
start-up; lack of a diversified fund development and sustainability plan or fundraising experience by both board and staff—evidenced
by limited funding streams and individual donors; lack of broader community buy-in, support, and partnering from individual
residents in the community and more formal partnerships; and a lack
of a consistent or comprehensive data tracking and information management.
Due to all of these
challenges, the Club ran into a financial crunch and cash flow issue at the end of February 2008 and had to lay off staff
and take a temporarily time-out. The Board took a two-month hiatus to plan and regroup. The Board learned some very hard but
important lessons through this entire experience, and as a result, they are doing things very differently.
GOALS
FOR THE FUTURE:
In order to move the organization ahead to its next
stage of development and build its capacity and long-term sustainability, The Boys and Girls Club of Battle Creek, through
its strategic planning process established a number of important priority goals for itself as follows:
1. Develop and implement a comprehensive resource development plan that includes diversified
funding streams; ongoing special events; and other income generating opportunities that ensure the long-term sustainability
of the Club.
2. Develop and strengthen the organization’s human
resources through staff and volunteer recruitment and training and partnerships with other organizations.
3.
Expand
and strengthen the board through capacity building; training, recruitment of new board members that bring a diversity of skillsets;
and creation of additional board subcommittees.
4. Solidifying collaborations and partnerships to firmly
establish and increase high quality programs for Boys and Girls Club members.
5.
Strengthen
support and build strong collaborations with individuals and families in the community to co-create a shared vision of what
the Club needs to be for our local community and so families can be extended ambassadors for the Club’s goodwill.
6. Improve data tracking and information management systems in order to better monitor demographics
of the young people being served; to improve follow-through with those constituents and organizations interacting with the
Club; and to better evaluate the effectiveness of programs, outcomes, & fundraising goals.
7.
Launch
a strategic marketing campaign that will heal and strengthen the image of the club and promote the proven programs of the
Club to the community.
8. Make safety a high priority of the Club and implement strategies to enforce safety so both
families and kids feel safe at the Club.
9. Strengthen existing programming and offer additional
programs so that kids are demonstrating improved outcomes around academics, character, leadership, etc.
In
summary, we know the need is great in our community. And we already know from research that afterschool programs are effective,
and more specifically, that Boys and Girls Club programs work. The research is clear that youth crime and violence are prevented
and that young people can grow into contributing and productive members of society when there is a Boys and Girls Club present.
The challenge now is to get it right this second time around and make sure the Club can remain strong and be sustainable indefinitely
to serve the youth of our community.
What we do know is that we cannot do it alone. We need
the support of caring people and leaders in the community to help us reach children who need us the most. Whether it is through
your time, influence or affluence, material or financial resources, your gift can make a huge impact on the lives of our young
people in this community. One caring adult can create an unbreakable bond with a vulnerable child that
will last him a lifetime.
One Boys & Girls Club can offer hope to a neighborhood
and a city. Your involvement and support is essential to continue to sustain the critically needed after school programming
offered through the Boys and Girls Club of Battle Creek for the children of our community. Your investment enables the Club’s
professional, caring adults to continue to guide our young people. Your care for club will support our community’s boys
and girls and will impact their lives for a lifetime.
