I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

After School Programs From BGCA

I’m mentioned a few times that I grew up in a very small town in Maine.  To give you some perspective on just how small, there are roughly 1400 people living there today.  There is a grocery store, two gas stations, a diner, a pizza place, and a handful of other random stores.  So, you know, small.

What we didn’t have were many after-school options.  If you weren’t playing a sport or didn’t have a job then there wasn’t much to do.  Fortunately most kids had parents that made sure where they were and what they were up to, but that wasn’t the case in every situation.  And regardless of checked in on, or not, it would have been great to have someplace to go where we could participate in fun activities, reinforce the skills and behaviors we learned in school, and to be active outside of the 20 minutes of recess we had each day.

In many cities this is where the Boys & Girls Clubs of America come into play.  They have nearly 4000 Clubs that serve over 4 million kids.  This means those kids have a safe place to go, a place where they can hone educational skills, take an art  or creative writing class, participate in a sport like golf or baseball.  They have the opportunity to learn leadership skills, develop interpersonal relationships, and just have fun.

April 7th through the 13th is National Boys & Girls Club Week.  So if like me, you have never been to a Boys & Girls Clubs of America facility or maybe have never even heard of them, this is the perfect time to learn more about them.  They will be opening the doors of their 4000 Clubs for celebrations this week.  You’ll be able to hear from some of the kids what they find so special about the program.  They’re also going to be holding events for entire neighborhoods to enjoy, like teen forums, carnivals, health fairs and more.

If you can’t take a physical tour, or don’t have a BGCA program in your area, you can take a virtual tour online.  You’ll learn lots, like 100 Ways to Celebrate Being a Kid.  You can even vote in the Blue Door Duel which will help one Club win a $5000!

If you have had experience with after school programs at BGCA I’d love to hear about it!

Images courtesy of bgca.org.