Advice from one Boys & Girls Club on responding to discriminatory speech in a way that teaches youth how to change their behavior and value diversity in out-of-school time spaces.
Reacting vs. Responding When Hateful Words Are Said
5 Ways to Engage Families and Caregivers Afterschool
BGCA's Lesa Sexton is back with tips on getting families and caregivers engaged in your program, and be sure to grab the details for an upcoming webinar at the end of this post! There are a lot of pithy sayings that just ring true. Don't judge a book by its cover. An ounce of prevention... 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 →
How to Find Books for Multicultural Children’s Book Day
On the ClubX Blog, we love inclusion, diversity, reading, and celebrations. All of these come together in Multicultural Children's Book Day! To help you bring it to your youth, I'm serving bulleted list realness. First observed in 2012, the mission of Multicultural Children's Book Day is to raise awareness for Children's Literature that celebrate diversity,... Continue Reading →
Why You Shouldn’t Use Sarcasm With Youth
Sarcasm might seem harmless, but it can actually create problems. Learn why in this post.
5 Calming Activities to Decrease Energy Levels After School
As youth development professionals who work afterschool, we know what the shift from the school day to the Club day can be like. Transitions are something we all do multiple times a day, and they can either smoothly help us experience the richness of the full Club program, or they can be a breakdown that... Continue Reading →
Club Story: Whatever It Takes To Be Inclusive
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 →
7 Summer Survival Tips for Youth Development Professionals
When school is out, Boys & Girls Clubs are IN, and in most of the country, summer programming is well underway. Summertime at the Club is such an awesome time for programming, because the longer days mean more flexibility and more *time* to do the kinds of fun, intensive activities we can't get to during... 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 →
Autism Awareness Day: Tips for Navigating Three Common Afterschool Scenarios
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 →
It’s World Kindness Day! Link Roundup
November 13 is World Kindness Day! Kindness is one of the character traits that we all hope to cultivate in the youth we serve. But how do we teach kindness? Today on the ClubX Blog we've got a roundup of some of the best ideas for activity plans from around the web. This video is... Continue Reading →
Hate Crimes: Silence Is Not An Option
This article has been updated for 2020. Over the past 10 years, hate crimes and bias incidents have been on the rise. Sometimes there is a catalyst for the crimes such as an election or global pandemic, but most often they are happening during a seemingly normal time. Hate crimes are not limited to any... 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 →
Cyberbullying: Warning Signs and Resources for Prevention
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 →
Supporting Youth Coming Out
Today 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 person or a group of people. An LGBTQ individual must choose if they will come... Continue Reading →
Creating Community Partnerships to Support LGBTQ Youth
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 →
Recognition Through Shout-Out Displays – Lots of Decor Ideas
One of the Five Key Elements for Positive Youth Development is recognition. We know that when staff acknowledge young people's innate strengths and talents, members feel validated and recognized. We can positively reinforce member's efforts and persistence through authentic gestures and words of praise, and celebrate their progress and successes. We can recognize youth for a... Continue Reading →
Open-Ended Questions: What’s In Your Back Pocket?
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 →
