Boys And Girls Club Research Paper

The Boys and Girls Club is a program, which provides children in the community a place to learn, have fun and grow. The program was created in 1860 by Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin and Elizabeth Hammersley in Connecticut. The program was created in order to prevent young men from playing in the street. When the club was first established, the primary focus of the club was to aid in children development, improve behavior and help the young men gain goals and realize their expectations. In 1906, Boys club decided to merge their causes and form one organization; The Federated Boys Clubs. According to BGCA (n.d), “The Federated Boys Clubs in Boston was formed with 53 member organizations – this marked the start of a nationwide Movement and our national

(see http://www.bgca.org). The mission of these clubs is to provide a positive and safe place for youth, where they can be supervised and supported by caring adults, with the goal of helping them to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsive citizens” (Fredricks, 2010, p.1). Today, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America is still creating a positive environment for youth. In different clubs around the nation, the Boys and Girls clubs provides different programs such as Sports and recreation, educational programs, art program, career development programs, leadership programs and health and wellness

The programs are sorted by age, for example their DIY STEM program is for children 9-12, in order to connect youth to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. However, the Boys and Girls Club also has all age inclusive programs such as Project Learn. Project Learn is a program that assists with academic advancement and aides with school engagement. Each program is advancing the child, their development and their communities. According to Anderson‐Butcher (2003), “Foremost, the results of the current study suggest that participation is related to enhanced protection among the youths who participate in the Club. Specifically, participation was related to lower levels of truancy, favorable attitudes toward cheating, and cigarette use; as well as increased enjoyment and effort in school… These data suggest that participation in the Club was related to decreased risks and problem behaviors typically associated with increasing age level. This might suggest that as youths got older they might be more likely to be at risk for and engage in problem behaviors, yet participation in the Club might potentially protect these youths from this increasing likelihood”