About Us
Character and Leadership
Helping youth become responsible, caring citizens and acquire skills for participating in the democratic process is the main thrust of these programs. They also develop leadership skills and provide opportunities for planning, decision-making, contributing to Club and community and celebrating our national heritage.
Youth of the Year: Keystone is the Boys & Girls Club Movement’s ultimate teen program. This unique leadership development experience provides opportunities for young people ages 14 to 18. Youth participate, both in and out of the Club, in activities in three focus areas: academic success, career preparation and community service. With the guidance of an adult advisor, Keystone Clubs aim to have a positive impact on members, the Club and community.
Keystone: Keystone is the Boys & Girls Club Movement’s ultimate teen program. This unique leadership development experience provides opportunities for young people ages 14 to 18. Youth participate, both in and out of the Club, in activities in three focus areas: academic success, career preparation and community service. With the guidance of an adult advisor, Keystone Clubs aim to have a positive impact on members, the Club and community.
Torch Clubs: Torch Clubs are chartered, small-group leadership and service clubs for boys and girls ages 11 to 13. A Torch Club is a powerful vehicle through which Club staff can help meet the special character development needs of younger adolescents at a critical stage in their life.
Million Members, Million Hours of Service: Studies show that young people who engage in service do better in school, maintain positive relationships with adults and avoid risky behaviors. BGCA’s Million Members, Million Hours of Service efforts will help Boys & Girls Clubs increase the number of youth participating in volunteer and service projects to 1 million members each donating at least one hour of service in a single year.
Education and Career
These programs help youth create aspirations for the future, providing opportunities for career exploration and educational enhancement.
Project Learn: Project Learn reinforces the academic enrichment and school engagement of young people during the time they spend at the Club. This strategy is based on research demonstrating that students do much better in school when they spend their non-school hours engaged in fun, but academically beneficial, activities. Through Project Learn, Club staff use all the areas and programs in the Club to create opportunities for these high-yield learning activities, which include leisure reading, writing activities, discussions with knowledgeable adults, helping others, homework help, tutoring and games (such as Scrabble), that develop young people’s cognitive skills. Project Learn also emphasizes parent involvement and collaboration between Club and school professionals as critical factors in creating the best after-school learning environment for Club members ages 6 to 18.
Junior Staff: Junior Staff is a small-group program that is both practical and user friendly. It assists Club members ages 13 to 18 in exploring a career in youth or human services, particularly Boys & Girls Club work. Young people prepare for future roles as human services professionals by participating in career development activities, discovering the importance of community service, building customer service skills and completing a Club apprenticeship. Clubs that implement this program make an investment in the development of Club members’ interpersonal skills, work ethic and sense of community responsibility.
BE GREAT: Graduate: BE GREAT: Graduate is BGCA’s dropout prevention program. This program is designed to enhance each Club member’s engagement with learning by providing consistent support from caring and trusted adults in developing the academic, emotional and social skills needed to achieve academic success.This program uses the early warning signals — attendance, behavior and course failure — to identify youth at risk of dropping out of school.
Power Hour: Making Minutes CountThe Power Hour materials provide practical tips and best practices for recognition and incentives, behavior management, volunteer recruitment and training, collaboration with other organizations and use of technology and the Internet.
Money Matters: Money Matters promotes financial responsibility and independence among Club members ages 13 to 18. Participants learn how to manage a checking account, create a budget, save and invest, start small businesses and pay for college.
Program Components:
The Money Matters Facilitator’s Guide provides Club staff and volunteers with basic financial information and instructions for the small-group activities that are easy to implement.
The fun, attractive Teen Personal Finance Guide contains practical tips and activities to help teens learn to balance a checkbook, create a budget and save and invest for college and retirement.
The Money Matters website helps teens build their money management skills through interactive activities, games and tools such as a savings and financial aid calculator to help them plan for college.
Program Impact
A recent evaluation of 1,600 teens from more than 100 Boys & Girls Clubs demonstrated the Money Matters program helped them become smarter about money. Youth showed improvement on 94% of survey questions asked before and after taking the program in their Club.
The infographic “Building Teens’ Sense About Their Dollars” highlights findings from the evaluation and demonstrates that financial education programs do make a difference in preparing teens for their future.
Download infographic
View video success stories
CareerLaunch: Preparing teens for our nation’s workforce. CareerLaunch encourages Club members ages 13 to 18 to assess their skills and interests, explore careers, make sound educational decisions and prepare to join our nation’s work force. Club staff or volunteers help teens build their job-search skills and job readiness by using the CareerLaunch Facilitator Guide and working with teens individually or in small groups. The CareerLaunch page provides Club teens, staff and volunteers with online career exploration, college and job search information and interactive activities. Mentoring, job shadowing and training opportunities round out the program.
DIY STEM: With generous support from Time Warner Cable, Boys & Girls Clubs of America is proud to offer DIY STEM for use by Clubs, other non-profit organizations and the general public.
DIY STEM is a hands-on, activity-based STEM curriculum which connects youth to science themes they encounter regularly. Special attention is paid to connections of theory and application and the common interactions members have with these scientific principles. DIY STEM currently includes five modules: Energy and Electricity, Engineering Design, Food Chemistry, Aeronautics and Robotics. Click here to access curriculum.
My.Future: The My.Future initiative transforms the way young people use technology in Clubs. Supported by Comcast, My.Future encourages youth to develop digital literacy and earn certifications, or digital badges, as they progress through the learning experiences.My.Future provides Club staff with fun and engaging project-based teaching experiences to help youth:
Understand their media world
Identify and develop digital interests
Earn certifications as they make progress
My.Future begins with “Essentials,” staff-facilitated project experiences that provide members of all ability levels with foundational technology skills.
When members have accumulated a defined number of project-based outcomes, as evidenced by their digital portfolio products and (at the advanced levels) an in-person presentation to their peers, they qualify for signed, certified, BGCA digital badges. These digital badges can be showcased online, shared with peers or added to a member’s resume to indicate their technical competency.
Finally, interest pathways are available through extensions including robotics, game design and even online journalism. Extensions allow instructional coaches and members to dive into specific interest areas, which may be technical or computational in nature. For example, if members really enjoy logic, then a next logical step would be to promote robotics programming, or even to engage and build interest in competing in the First Lego League competition. Or if members enjoy the logic of programming, they might like to explore introductions to coding through building a game, learning code through Khan Academy, or even using Code Academy to build experience in a formal programming language. Learn more at myfuture.net.
Summer Brain Gain: READ!: Supported by Staples, Summer Brain Gain: READ! is a 12-week summer reading program to improve the reading skills of youth with a new book presented each week per age group, along with supporting activities.In addition to two 30-minute reading sessions each week, Club members complete fun activities that bring the book to life.
Summer Brain Gain: Summer Brain Gain is a fun, educational program that aims to prevent summer learning loss and keep kids on track for the coming school year. Supported by Disney and Old Navy, the program is comprised of 17 one-week modules with themed activities for elementary school, middle school and high school students. Each module takes a project-based learning approach; youth engage in a process of learning through discovery, creative expression, group work and a final project or production.
Health and Life Skills
These initiatives 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.
Triple Play: Triple Play, BGCA’s first comprehensive health and wellness program, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, strives to improve the overall health of Club members ages 6-18 by increasing their daily physical activity, teaching them good nutrition and helping them develop healthy relationships.The Mind component encourages young people to eat smart through the Healthy Habits program, which covers the power of choice, calories, vitamins and minerals, the food pyramid and appropriate portion size. The Body component boosts Clubs’ traditional physical activities to a higher level by providing sports and fitness activities for all youth. Body programs include six Daily Fitness Challenges; teen Sports Clubs focused on leadership development, service and careers in athletics; and Triple Play Games Tournaments, inter-Club sectional tournaments that involve multiple team sports. The Soul component helps build positive relationships and cooperation among young people.
Triple Play Parents Game Plan
Because parents play such a critical role in the development of a child’s physical and social well-being, BGCA and Coca-Cola produced a tool, Triple Play Parents Game Plan, that can be used at home – where healthy habits start, are modeled and reinforced. Now available in Spanish.Triple Play Parents Game Plan (Spanish Version).
Triple Play Evaluation Results
To learn more about how Triple Play improved members’ physical activity, food choices, peer relations and self-mastery, review this third-party evaluation data about BGCA’s health and wellness program.
Healthy Habits: A Component of the Triple Play Program is designed to incorporate healthy living and active learning in every part of the Club experience, Healthy Habits emphasizes good nutrition, regular physical activity and improving overall well-being.The program, for ages 6 to 15, is theMind component of Triple Play: A Game Plan for the Mind, Body and Soul.
Learn more about this comprehensive program.
NetSmartz: NetSmartz teaches Internet safety skills through engaging multimedia activities and offline interaction with Club professionals in three age-appropriate modules: Clicky’s Web World (for ages 6 to 7); NetSmartz Rules (for ages 8 to 12); and I-360 (for ages 13 to 18).
Topics include personal safety, shopping safety and ethical use of the Internet. To learn more, youth ages 12 and younger can go directly to www.netsmartzkids.org; while teens, parents and Club staff can learn about Internet safety at www.netsmartz.org. BGCA collaborated with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to develop NetSmartz. Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.
Smart Moves: The SMART Moves (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training) prevention/education program addresses problems such as drug and alcohol use and premature sexual activity. The program uses a team approach involving Club staff, peer leaders, parents and community representatives. More than simply emphasizing a “Say No” message, the program teaches young people ages 6 to 15 how to say no by involving them in discussion and role-playing, practicing resistance and refusal skills, developing assertiveness, strengthening decision-making skills and analyzing media and peer influence. The ultimate goal: to promote abstinence from substance abuse and adolescent sexual involvement through the practice of responsible behavior.
Smart Girls: An outgrowth of the popular and effective SMART Moves program, SMART Girls is a health, fitness, prevention/education and self-esteem enhancement program for girls ages 8 to 17. SMART Girls offers young women – ages 8 to 17 – guidance toward healthy attitudes and lifestyles, eating right, staying fit, getting good health care and more. Encouraging young women to have healthy attitudes and lifestyles, SMART Girls helps them reach their full potential. Through dynamic sessions, group activities, field trips and mentoring opportunities with adult women, Club girls enjoy the opportunity to build skills for eating right, staying physically fit, getting good health care, and developing positive relationships.Other topics addressed include how the media influences attitudes about females; date rape and sexual harassment; sexually transmitted diseases; sexual myths and truths; getting regular gynecological care; and physical and emotional changes girls experience.
Passport to Manhood: Passport to Manhood promotes and teaches responsibility in Club boys ages 11 to 14. Passport to Manhood consists of 14 sessions, each concentrating on a specific aspect of character and manhood through highly interactive activities. Each Club participant receives his own “passport” to underscore the notion that he is on a personal journey of maturation and growth. The program includes a service project where boys learn the importance of giving back to the community. Passport to Manhood represents a targeted effort to engage young boys in discussions and activities that reinforce character, leadership and positive behavior.
Date Smart: Date SMART is a supplement to SMART Girls and Passport to Manhood for Club members ages 13 to 18. Through fun and easy-to-use sessions, members learn how to achieve mutually supportive relationships free of violence and abuse. The program also encourages youth to become community advocates for relationships that promote equality and respect while combating the attitudes and behaviors that lead to dating, sexual and domestic violence
Sports, Fitness and Recreation
These Club programs help develop fitness, a positive use of leisure time, reduction of stress, appreciation for the environment and social and interpersonal skills.
Triple Play: Triple Play, BGCA’s first comprehensive health and wellness program, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, strives to improve the overall health of Club members ages 6-18 by increasing their daily physical activity, teaching them good nutrition and helping them develop healthy relationships.The Mind component encourages young people to eat smart through the Healthy Habits program, which covers the power of choice, calories, vitamins and minerals, the food pyramid and appropriate portion size. The Body component boosts Clubs’ traditional physical activities to a higher level by providing sports and fitness activities for all youth. Body programs include six Daily Fitness Challenges; teen Sports Clubs focused on leadership development, service and careers in athletics; and Triple Play Games Tournaments, inter-Club sectional tournaments that involve multiple team sports. The Soul component helps build positive relationships and cooperation among young people.
Triple Play Parents Game Plan
Because parents play such a critical role in the development of a child’s physical and social well-being, BGCA and Coca-Cola produced a tool, Triple Play Parents Game Plan, that can be used at home – where healthy habits start, are modeled and reinforced. Now available in Spanish. Triple Play Parents Game Plan (Spanish Version).
Triple Play Evaluation Results
To learn more about how Triple Play improved members’ physical activity, food choices, peer relations and self-mastery, review this third-party evaluation data about BGCA’s health and wellness program.
RBI: RBI is a Major League Baseball initiative whose mission is to increase urban and inner city youth interest and participation in baseball and softball by re-introducing, reviving, and rebuilding America’s pastime in underserved communities.To support this mission, RBI provides training to Boys & Girls Clubs wishing to start or expand boys baseball and girls fast-pitch softball leagues for ages 13 to 15 and 16 to 18.
RBI teams representing Club leagues are eligible to participate in sports clinics, eight regional tournaments and a national championship tournament (the RBI World Series) conducted every summer by Major League Baseball.
Jr. RBI: Jr. RBI is designed to teach the fundamentals of baseball and softball to children ages 5 to 12. It also serves as a feeder program for the RBI program. There are three recommended divisions of play for Jr. RBI (based on league participation numbers): ages 5 to 7, ages 8 to 10 and ages 11 to 12. Each playing level has its own set of age-appropriate rules. In divisions with players ages 5 to 10, the emphasis is on teaching the fundamentals of baseball and making the game fun. Divisions for players ages 11 to 12 may be used as an introduction to competitive baseball and softball.Player safety is a priority for Jr. RBI. For all baseball programs, the playing rules highlight the importance of protecting pitchers’ arms with a pitch count, which is used to track the stress on young players’ developing bodies. For softball programs, playing rules highlight the introduction to the game at the earliest ages.
WANNA PLAY?: WANNA PLAY? encourages youth ages 6 to 12 to increase their overall fitness and health through physical activity and improved nutrition education, while learning the fundamental skills of baseball and softball. WANNA PLAY? increases members’ physical fitness by focusing on agility, balance and coordination. This program features a variety of fun and engaging activities and games to help Club members improve their fitness; increase awareness of good nutrition and hydration; and learn basic baseball and softball skills and knowledge.…
PGA Sports Academy: The PGA Sports Academy introduces youth, ages 7 to 13, to the sport of golf to help young people build character, and develop healthy and active lifestyles. Golf is a fun, active game that gives young people stamina, focus and skill, while exposing them to a lifelong leisure activity, and an opportunity for personal and professional development. In January 2012, The Professional Golfers’ Association of America(PGA) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) as their Official Youth Development Partner in a five-year mission to introduce youth nationwide to the game of golf. Selected cities and Clubs will host the PGA Sports Academy program which introduces members to the fundamentals of golf in a Club environment. he PGA Sports Academy program is taught by PGA professionals utilizing golf instruction, sports, fitness and games to help youth learn golf in an interactive setting. Instruction may take place in a gym, open space or an outdoor area. Contests and games may be used to reinforce skills learned in a fun and non-competitive manner. The program concludes with members visiting a local golf course where they’ll have the opportunity to transition their newly-learned skills at the golf course. The PGA Sports Academy program is taught by PGA professionals utilizing golf instruction, sports, fitness and games to help youth learn golf in an interactive setting. Instruction may take place in a gym, open space or an outdoor area. Contests and games may be used to reinforce skills learned in a fun and non-competitive manner. The program concludes with members visiting a local golf course where they’ll have the opportunity to transition their newly-learned skills at the golf course. Golf training equipment and instructional support from PGA professionals will be provided through this partnership to help youth build character, develop healthy lifestyles, and learn the game of golf. Over the next five years, The PGA, USGA and BGCA will extend the range of golf opportunities to members and their families, including special golf fun days at local Boys & Girls Clubs, family days at local courses, invitations to golf clinics and tournaments, and the development of league play.