A Youth Development Resource From Boys & Girls Clubs of America
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 →
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 post is from Rachel Greene-Wilber of the Youth Trends team here at BGCA. As Boys & Girls Clubs, we strive to promote inclusive environments. This week, we are highlighting how establishing community partnerships can advance that goal and improve the experience of our Club members. The Komatke Boys & Girls Club, located in the... 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 guest post is one of a two-part series for the 2018 National Keystone Conference. For the other post, written by a member of the Keystone Conference Steering Committee, click here! Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate... 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 →
Today's guest post, and third in our series on Pulse Checks, is from Max Fenster from Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada, where Club staff have been piloting exit polls for a year. Read on to discover what they've learned! Nearly a year ago, we began using exit polling to get feedback from our... 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 →
Today's guest post is from Brandy Harris from Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield, where they have been LOVING Pulse Checks. Read on to find out how they use them at their Club! Webster Dictionary (probably) defines pulse checks as this cool thing should be implemented at Clubs across the globe and that a bunch... Continue Reading →
Something that comes up over and over is making sure that our Club spaces are clean, fresh, and beautifully designed. I know in my Club, we were required to change out our bulletin board displays and other decor several times a year. But I've found that public spaces, like hallways, offices, and bathrooms tend to... 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 →
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 →
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 →
Ted Talks are short speeches given on various topics, and many of them are really great jumping off points for discussions with youth. We will share some of our favorites here on the Club Experience Blog. Today, I bring you one of the most popular Ted Talks, "How do you define yourself" by Lizzie Velasquez.... 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 →
Today's Club Story is from Vericia Pearson, aka "Ms. V" from the Henderson Unit of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield. As a new employee looking for ways to connect with her members, she implemented Wonder Girl Hour in her gym programming, and it has been a HUGE success, even winning a programming award from... Continue Reading →
Boys & Girls Clubs set high standards, not just for members, but for their communities. By adopting and developing programming around the Cowboy Ethics Code of the West, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming have had a HUGE impact that spread state-wide. I recently spoke with Sara Beth Lyon, the Cowboy Ethics Outreach Coordinator, to... Continue Reading →
This month's Culture of Wellness webinar is going to be AWESOME. The full title is "From Club to Club: Effective Strategies and Clever Ideas." Check out the description: The Boys & Girls Club Movement is rich with promising practices. We have more to learn from one another than from any other source. This webinar will... Continue Reading →
This guest post is from Kendra Williams-Calhoun, Unit Director at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harlan County in Kentucky. It is second in a two-part series for Children's Grief Awareness Day. When we think about grief as adults, we tend to think about sadness, sorrow, pain, and suffering. Now stop… https://giphy.com/gifs/peteandpete-season-3-the-adventures-of-pete-and-l0Nvr0QqmtpiizdhC Think about all... Continue Reading →
This guest post is from Morgan Mabry, Director of Gender & Well-Being at BGCA, and is first in a two-part series for Children's Grief Awareness Day. Grief is an all too familiar experience for many of the young people we serve. It is estimated that 1 in 20 children in the U.S. will experience the... Continue Reading →
Just admit it. You TOTALLY heard this in your head when you read that headline. (Did I just age myself? That's ok. I am proud to be a part of the TGIF generation!) Here at BGCA, we do a ton of research into what makes for a great Club Experience. What we've discovered is that... Continue Reading →
Teaching Tolerance is one of my FAVORITE websites, and you'll likely see it pop up on the blog pretty often. They have tons of great stuff. While it is aimed at classroom educators, most of it is super adaptable to the Club context, plus they have a lot of excellent learning tools for staff. While... Continue Reading →
This month's Culture of Wellness Webinar is on supporting LGBTQ youth in your Club. Here's the description: Boys & Girls Clubs have a responsibility to provide a safe, positive and inclusive environment for ALL youth, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Join us for tips and best practices on creating an inclusive... Continue Reading →
Do you read books aloud in your Club? The benefits of read-alouds are well-documented, even for older youth. And beyond these reasons, they can be used as a great activity-starter for any area of your Club. In the education room or learning center, you could have youth write another story on the theme of the... Continue Reading →
This guest post is by Kathryn King, MSRA, from Kids Included Together. Kids Included Together (KIT) is honored to be a partner with BGCA to ensure equity for youth with disabilities and their families. Equity is often thought about in terms of race or ethnicity, but individuals with disabilities are also an underserved population. According to the World... Continue Reading →
This guest post is from Crystal Brown, Senior Director of Gender & Well-Being at BGCA. Have you ever asked a Club member a question and they provided you with an answer that gave you little to no information? https://giphy.com/gifs/30-rock-sme-how-do-you-1Qdp4trljSkY8 Questions like, “How are you?” or “Do you like coming to the Club?” will typically result... Continue Reading →
In my Education room at Boys & Girls Club of the Smoky Mountains, I wanted to come up with a way to keep my decor fresh without a lot of effort. Plus there is just *so much information* I wanted to share with my members. So what I came up with was what I called... Continue Reading →
This special guest post from the Health, Gender and Wellness Team and Safety Team at BGCA is in response to the racially-motivated violence in Charlottesville, Virginia over the August 12, 2017 weekend, but has applicable information for leading conversations with teens following any tragic event. Teens are exposed to a variety of messages, which are... Continue Reading →
