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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 national programs so effective?

Our programs:

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.

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' 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. Boys & Girls Clubs 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. Boys & Girls Clubs 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. Boys & Girls Clubs also invests significant dollars in rigorous process and/or outcome evaluations of national programs.