When I think of the average Boys & Girls Club, my mind goes straight to the Gamesroom. Often the heart of the Clubhouse. Loud, chaotic, busy, and fun! The next thing my mind goes to? How 8 year old Sarah would have HATEDDDDDDD the Gamesroom. The reason? 8 year old me was (and 30-something year... Continue Reading →
On recent surveys of Boys & Girls Club CEOs and Club Directors, when we asked what resources would be helpful, understanding and preventing the use of vaping came up over and over. BGCA's Youth Trends team has created a brand new guide to help Clubs learn about this phenomenon. What is Vaping? E-cigarettes were first... Continue Reading →
Continuing the celebration of Pride in our Movement, we are proud to share this post from Erin Wigley, Education Director at the Fort Craig Club of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley. She is sharing her personal experience as a queer woman, keeping our youth safe, and ways in which we can make... Continue Reading →
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 →
Our very own resident librarian and newest member of the Youth Trends team, Shannon Lake, is here to deliver the BEST tips to encourage summer reading including a free download from the BGCA's Power Hour Resource Guide! Summer is almost here and it’s time for you and your members to take a trip! No passport,... Continue Reading →
It's graduation season! Read on for tips to prevent summer melt plus a FREE download from the new Diplomas to Degrees program guide! This week I got three graduation announcements in the mail from some special teens in my life! Yep, it’s graduation season and soon we’ll see a flood of cap and gown pictures... Continue Reading →
This week the ClubX Blog and the Youth Trends team are marking Child Abuse Prevention Month with a focus on the prevention of Child Sex Trafficking. If a child you know is in need of support, call the 24/7 National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 to speak with a trained professional advocate at any time.... Continue Reading →
Next week is BGCA's 113th National Conference! Club staff from across the world (shout-out to Youth Centers on military installations!) will be gathering together to celebrate our accomplishments, learn all about the newest initiatives, and network with one another. One of the absolute best parts of National Conference are the INCREDIBLE youth performers that wow... Continue Reading →
April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day, a time to promote education about the condition and inclusion of those affected. According to the CDC, 1 in 59 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the prevalence is growing. But while many people have heard the term “autism”, they may not fully know what... Continue Reading →
This is no April Fool’s Day Joke! This year, the College of Physicians is kicking off Teen Health Week, taking place April 1-7, 2019. This week is all about encouraging teens to take charge of their physical and mental health, and to facilitate healthy habits that will carry throughout their lives. It is the perfect opportunity to host... Continue Reading →
Do you want to connect with other Smart Girls Advisors? Interested in becoming a Smart Girls Advisor? Find out how at the end of this post! As Women’s History Month comes to an end, we’re thinking about all the ways Club staff empower young girls to become strong women in the future. SMART Girls is... Continue Reading →
Metacognition is a very big and impressive sounding word. But what is it, why is it important, and how can we encourage it at the Boys & Girls Club? Metacognition is the ability to think about your thoughts with the aim of improving learning. This article from Edutopia gives a helpful metaphor- learning metacognition strategies... Continue Reading →
Arts Advocacy Day is a day when Arts advocates from across the country meet with their Members of Congress to garner support for the Arts. This day is used as an opportunity to share how the Arts are impacting our lives and the lives of the young people we serve. While today is Arts Advocacy... Continue Reading →
Are your youth talking about a viral challenge or a new online urban legend? Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Youth Trends team is here to help! Find a printable one-page version of this content at the end of the post. What are Viral Challenges? With the rise of social media it can seem like... Continue Reading →
When working with youth, particularly tweens, we all know how it goes when we come in and just lay down the law. While behavior guidelines or rules have their place, particularly when it comes to keeping youth safe, they don't always work to get everyone on board, and they don't always help us as leaders... Continue Reading →
Read on to learn more about the STEM challenge and how your Club can win amazing prizes PLUS be featured right here on the ClubX Blog! Check out Part 2 of this series for books and movies that prominently feature women in STEM roles. When you hear the word “scientist,” there’s a certain image that... Continue Reading →
Today's post is Part 2 of our special series for National Girls & Women in Sports Day! Be sure to check out Part 1 for more tips on getting girls involved in sports at your Club, plus information on how to get supplies to start a girls flag football league. Did you know that less... Continue Reading →
This week we are celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day on the ClubX Blog! Today's post is written by BGCA Youth Trends Intern Sam Williams. Click here for Part 2! The Super Bowl may have just passed, but there’s another important sports event on the horizon… On February 6, 2019, join BGCA in... Continue Reading →
Today's guest post is from Clarke Hill, Director of Quality Improvement at BGCA. They are known around the office as the KOALAS! 🙂 You might have heard of Continuous Quality Improvement or CQI. Maybe your Club is participating in a CQI process such as the Weikart Center’s Youth Program Quality Intervention, or maybe this the... Continue Reading →
Welcome to 2019! Here on the ClubX Blog we LOVE holidays and awareness weeks and months. They are an easy way to ignite ideas for activities and special events, and help to keep things fresh. Special holidays are also good opportunities to highlight wonderful differences and bring diversity into programming. January is Braille Literacy Month,... Continue Reading →
We here on the Youth Development team at BGCA are SO EXCITED to be rolling out the brand new Program Basics suite! If you haven't heard, Program Basics is a collection of resources to support youth development professionals, program directors, and site directors in planning and delivering high-quality programming in their Clubs. We've partnered with... Continue Reading →
November is CHOCK-FULL of awareness campaigns, but one of them is of particular note for Boys & Girls Club staff. National Runaway Prevention Month is a good time (though it shouldn't be the only time!) to stop and learn about the issue of youth who run away from home, and how Clubs can play an... Continue Reading →
I recently came across this article about the fact that in just about every developed country, girls are reading more than boys. Some key points: Boys dedicate less than than girls to processing words, are more prone to skipping passages or entire sections, and frequently choose books beneath their reading levels. Girls are more likely to... Continue Reading →
BGCA has sunset the Year of the Teen Director’s App to consolidate practices, tips, and all other content in the YD Toolbox app and here on the Club Experience Blog. We will be featuring some of the articles that appeared in the app here (with updates!), as well as content just for staff who work... Continue Reading →
We mark a lot of different occasions here at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, but in this humble blog's opinion, one stands above the rest- Native Heritage Month! Every November, BGCA's Native Services team puts together some amazing resources. It's a time of year to reflect on what indigenous heritage means and to share... Continue Reading →
BGCA's Youth Trends team is at it again with this mashup of information for October's National Bullying Prevention Month AND Cybersafety Month. We know young people spend A LOT on time online and on social media. Approximately 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online ‘almost constantly’. YouTube, Instagram,... Continue Reading →
October 11, 2018 is the 30th anniversary of National Coming Out Day. To mark the day, we are featuring an excerpt from BGCA's Serving LGBTQ Youth Toolkit here on the ClubX Blog. For the full toolkit and other resources, visit BGCA.net. Coming out is when any person reveals an aspect of their identity to another... Continue Reading →
This post is from Rachel Greene-Wilber on BGCA's Youth Trends team. Be sure to check out their other posts for more culturally responsive content. The issue of sexual assault has been center stage in the news and social media, which means it's also on the minds and in the conversations of teens across the country.... Continue Reading →
BGCA is sunsetting the Year of the Teen Director's App to consolidate practices, tips, and all other content in the YD Toolbox app and here on the Club Experience Blog. We will be featuring some of the articles that appeared in the app here (with updates!), as well as content just for staff who work... Continue Reading →
In the upcoming Netflix film “Nappily Ever After” the main character goes through “The Big-Chop” by cutting off her hair, sending her on a journey of discovery about what it means to feel professional, confident, beautiful and loved – and how the appearance of her hair affects all those things. BGCA staff Tanisha Grimes and... Continue Reading →
This week the ClubX Blog and the Youth Trends team are marking National Suicide Prevention Week. Be sure to check out the accompanying Club Story for more guidance. If you or someone you know is in need of support, seek help immediately. You can call the free, confidential National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)... Continue Reading →
September 9-15, 2018 is National Suicide Prevention Week. On the ClubX Blog, we will be providing resources and encouragement for all those who work with youth. Today's Club Story comes from Stacey Braund Busby, Social and Emotional Wellness Initiative Director at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley. If you or someone you know... Continue Reading →
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 →
"To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens." In the United States, one of the best ways that we can be citizens is by exercising our right to vote. Unfortunately, younger adults, including Millennials and post-Millennials, are the least likely of all... Continue Reading →
Bulletin 3 in the Promising Practices for Managing Club Staff bulletin series is finally here! If you haven't taken a look at these bulletins yet, you are in for A TREAT. They highlight Club promising staff management practices that help build a high-quality Club Experience, and are based on extensive research and so. many. phone... Continue Reading →
Today's guest post is from Gavin Gill, Director of Operations for Boys & Girls Clubs of West Alabama. He has seen a lot of change while working with Clubs, and is passionate about helping staff manage it well! As Directors or Managers of Boys & Girls Clubs, we know change is going to happen. There... Continue Reading →
Today's post comes from BGCA's Youth Program Design & Trends Team. June is for warm weather, summer Club activities and LGBTQ Pride Month! In celebrating Pride Month, we are thrilled to partner with GLSEN in supporting the 16% of Club teens who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, or Questioning (LGBTQ). GLSEN is the leading... Continue Reading →
BGCA's Child & Club Safety and Youth Trends teams recently learned about some controversy surrounding a recent film release. Keep reading for a list of free resources for discussing consent that can be used alongside the film or at any time with your members. The movie Show Dogs was recently released in theaters as a fun... Continue Reading →
In observance of National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, BGCA has partnered with several organizations to provide Clubs with resources to support our members. Each year National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day seeks to raise awareness about the importance of children’s mental health and show that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy... Continue Reading →
April is National Autism Awareness Month! Get some information about what may trigger challenging behaviors and 26 sample adaptations for your Club from our partner Kids Included Together and Autism Speaks. Read on for more information on BGCA's all-new Serving Youth With Autism Toolkit! One in 68 children have Autism Spectrum Disorder, so chances are... Continue Reading →
I've featured one of my favorite sites, Teaching Tolerance, on the ClubX Blog before. They are a project of The Southern Poverty Law Center, and they design training and resources for classroom educators. A lot of their stuff is easily and directly applicable to the Club context, including a great webinar they did last month.... Continue Reading →
Today's guest post comes from BGCA's Lauren Barineau, Senior Director of Youth Development, Health & Wellness. She is an expert in making sure our members are as healthy as they can be! Is Your Club HEPA-Tastic?? In recent years, more attention is being paid to healthy eating and physical activity among youth. At Boys &... Continue Reading →
This post is adapted from The School Walkout: An Adult Ally Guide by Youth Era. In the wake of recent tragedies such as the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, youth have quickly become leaders in the discussion around gun control legislation. On March 24, youth and families will take the streets of Washington DC... Continue Reading →
Today's post is from Morgan Mabry, Director of Youth Development, Health & Wellness at BGCA. This is her second appearance on the ClubX Blog! Be sure to read all the way through for a PHOTO OF A PUPPY AHHHHHHHHHHHH Pain can be really hard to navigate. Our natural inclination is to avoid pain at all... Continue Reading →
NYOI has officially started! National Youth Outcomes Initiative (NYOI) season is a very exciting time for us at Boys & Girls Clubs. As we kick off this year's survey administration, we will have a series of posts in the Let's Talk Data Series to give some background information as well as some ideas from Clubs... Continue Reading →
When you get so many youth (and staff!) in one Club for several hours a day, there are going to be a lot of emotions that happen. And it is not always easy to navigate! Particularly when those emotions show up physically as tears. Unfortunately, we don't always have the best response to youth who... Continue Reading →
Last month, BGCA debuted the Promising Practices for Managing Club Staff bulletin series right here on the Club Experience Blog! Be sure and go back and read that first post, not just to get the hiring and onboarding bulletin, but also to find out a bit more about the development of the series. Today I... Continue Reading →
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is an amazing nonprofit that is focused on creating research-backed resources to aid those who work with children at risk of poor educational, economic, social and health outcomes. One of their major projects is the Kids Count Data Center, which is a great tool to use if you need national... Continue Reading →
With the launch of Great Futures 2025 this year, BGCA is laser-focused on improving the Club Experience for our members. To support Clubs in doing this work, we have been working on a TON of resources, including the YD Toolbox app, trainings like the Club Directors Academy and Youth Development Institutes, and this blog. We've... Continue Reading →
Did you know that the YD Toolbox app has a BUILT IN COMMUNITY???? You can get to the YDT Community online or through the Social button on the home page of the YD Toolbox app, which looks like this: There are two separate forums right now, one for Supervisors and one for Youth Development Professionals, although... Continue Reading →
