Integrating arts with positive self-identity, youth voice, social justice, and wellness makes for powerful creative expression.
Keeping Art Inclusive and Responsive
Connecting Youth to the Great Outdoors
Three activity ideas to get youth outside, featuring the new Outdoor Social Recreation Playbook.
Exploring Creativity Through Arts Programming
The arts give youth new and unique ways of expressing. Learn about NEW resources and activities across art mediums in this new post.
5 Tips For Making This the Safest Summer Ever
We LOVE summer at Boys & Girls Clubs, but there are some unique safety risks to consider. Get tips to keep youth safe in this new ClubX Blog post.
New Data on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health And What We Must Do
New data from The Trevor Project on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health shines a light on why Pride is still important, plus resources from BGCA and others to support your work.
Responding to the Uvalde Tragedy
Resources for those who work with youth on coping with crisis for teens, younger youth, and en Español
Get Programming On-Demand With BGCA’s National Virtual Club!
BGCA's NEW National Virtual Club puts the best high-yield activities from Club staff across the country on your tv or device.
Supporting Youth Who Lost a Parent to COVID
Learn the statistics on youth who have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID, and get resources to help support their grieving process.
Developing a Staff Training Plan That Deepens Impact and Reduces Burnout
Tips for building a staff training infrastructure that is effective, efficient, and builds high-quality practice in your youth development program.
Supporting Youth When School Shootings Are In the News
Resources to help guide youth through tough conversations about school shootings, featuring Be There and others from BGCA
6 Things That Should Be In Your Club’s Onboarding Experience
Learn the six components necessary to make a YDPs first 90 days a success plus learn about the all new Youth Development Professional Onboarding Guide from BGCA.
How Should You Respond to Youth Behavior?
The three categories of youth behavior and ways afterschool professionals should respond, featuring BGCA's Behavioral Support Toolkit.
Prioritizing Equity Through Behavior Support in Portland
Learn how the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Portland Metro Area integrated the Behavior Support Toolkit into their Equity and Trauma Informed Approach to youth development.
What is Behavior, Really?
Learn more about what youth behavior is actually saying and how we can respond, featuring BGCA's newest digital resource, the Behavior Support Toolkit,
Teens, Emotional Health, and What We Can Do
The latest research on teens and how they are coping with COVID-19 plus the new BGCA resource SMART Moves: Emotional Wellness Teen Expansion Pack that can help.
Building Resilience When Dealing With Racism
BGCA's Stacy Ruff, Director of College & Career Programs, is back on the ClubX Blog, with a free excerpt from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg's recent book, Building Resilience in Children and Teens. Childhood innocence is a beautiful and precious thing. Pillow forts, Fortnight, play wrestling, knock-knock jokes, and snuggle time... Continue Reading →
Learning How to Handle BIG! EMOTIONS!
BGCA launched the brand new SMART Moves: Emotional Wellness resource earlier this month and we are SO EXCITED for you to check it out! Here to tell us about her Club's experience as part of the pilot test group for SMART Moves is Sarah Wilkerson, Executive Director of the Loudon County unit of the Boys... Continue Reading →
6 Emotional Wellness Practices You Can Use With Youth
Today's post is adapted from the Program Basics for COVID-19 resource. Emotional Safety and Wellness are always important, but provide unique challenges during this time. Emotional wellness relates to youth's ability to identify, communicate, and self-regulate their emotions. If youth do not feel emotionally safe, then they simply do not feel safe at all. Prioritizing... Continue Reading →
Active Games for Social Distancing
If you are reading this in the future, it is now July 2020, and we have been in a global pandemic for what feels like 18 years now. It's exhausting. Hopefully from your view in the future you are like "Hang in there, it's almost over and then all this great stuff happens!" But for... Continue Reading →
Race Matters.
This blog post was written by Stacy Ruff, BGCA's Director of College & Career Programs and includes a free excerpt on the traumatic impact of racism on young people from the American Academy of Pediatrics upcoming publication, Reaching Teens, 2nd Edition. I certainly can’t speak for everyone but for me last week, and particularly this... Continue Reading →
Addressing Current Events
Tips for having conversations with youth about difficult topics in the news
Vaping: How to Have the Conversation With Youth
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 →
