Why Teen Voice Matters

Tiffany Thornton, BGCA's Senior Director of Youth Development Services, brings a powerful story of lifting teen voice today. Our nation has been surrounded by images of protests, calls for change and an increased awareness of the prevalence of bias, injustice and systematic racism. The teens at the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis in Oregon... Continue Reading →

Club Story: Staying Connected to Teens

Beethoven Felix is a Senior Director of Teen Services for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale. BGCA's own Laurie Rodriguez chatted with Beethoven about how he has stayed connected with his teens during this pandemic. Beethoven’s Keystone Club (Barker Interact Keystone Club) received the highest honor a Keystone Club can receive at the... Continue Reading →

Club Story: Project Crane

At the 2019 Keystone Conference, we met the teens from the Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam Youth Center in Hawai'i, and learned about their Project Crane. To say we were moved is an understatement, and today I'm absolutely honored to bring you their story, written by the teens themselves. An origami paper crane flapped its... Continue Reading →

Club Story: Night Out & Night In

I heard about an event that the staff at the Don Kromer Branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County puts on, and I absolutely had to hear more! Here's my conversation with Branch Director LaCharles Green on how their Club does recognition in a special way. First, tell me a little bit... Continue Reading →

Spooky Scary Halloween Ideas

It's September, which means IT'S TIME TO START PLANNING FOR HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Halloween is the best holiday to celebrate with young people. You can go all out and be silly and ridiculous and it is just accepted. I love it! To put together this post, I asked the foremost experts on fun- Boys & Girls Club... Continue Reading →

Club Stories: Pride in Our Movement

June is here and it’s time to celebrate! In the United States, June became the month to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. 2019 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the uprising that played a pivotal role in human rights progression within the United... Continue Reading →

Club Story: Girls Who Code

Recently, through the BGCA Education Learning Community, we were introduced to Kelley Smith, Program Director at the Boys and Girls Club of Fauquier in Warrenton, Virginia. We were immediately struck by her enthusiasm for coding! We were curious to learn about how she’s been able to successfully establish a coding program at her Club (especially… Continue Reading →

It’s Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month!

Did you know that it’s Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month? Get ready for a culturally rich ride in our two-part blog series! First up, we will explore the history behind the celebration of Asian/Pacific American Heritage month, how Clubs can incorporate recognition of the month into their Club day, and we will hear from one of... Continue Reading →

Club Story: Recognizing FUN In Virginia

One of the building blocks of the Five Key Elements is Recognition. At Clubs and Youth Centers, we use authentic gestures and encouragement to positively reinforce the good decisions, efforts, and successes of our youth. Recently, I learned about a great recognition idea from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia, so I chatted... Continue Reading →

Club Story: Challenge Sparks GROWTH

Today's Club Story comes from Ericha Clary, Unit Director at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Colorado River's newest unit, Fort Mohave. Keen readers of the ClubX Blog will recognize that organization, as they've been featured on the blog TWICE already! (Here and here!)  Before the start of summer 2018 here at our local Club... Continue Reading →

Club Story: Celebrating Our Data

Today's guest post is from the staff team at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley's Little Chute Elementary Unit. They hosted a data reveal party when this year's NYOI data was released, and it was a blast! We will hear from two perspectives in this first-of-a-kind post, first from a staff member and... Continue Reading →

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