Impact
Impact
Our programs aren’t just fun – everything we do has a purpose. We want to ensure kids’ academic, social and emotional success. Our Outcome-Driven Club Experience is focused on Four Priority Outcomes for the youth we serve.
1. Academic Success
Learning doesn’t end when school is out. Our programs are designed to foster a culture of high expectations and academic achievement. We focus on increasing high school graduation rates and decreasing school absenteeism, and we encourage kids to create ambi- tious, achievable post-secondary goals.
Every Club offers a unique array of programs designed to educate and delight our members. All Boys & Girls Clubs offer academic enrichment programs, including STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) initiatives, homework help, financial literacy, and summer programs to prevent summer learning loss.
In 2021-2022, BGCAZ distributed $75,874 in scholarship support for 15 Club alumni who are currently pursuing post-secondary education.
2. Good Character & Leadership
At Boys & Girls Clubs, we engage with our members to model the importance of giving back to the community. We equip our youth and teens with the tools they need to become responsible, caring adults and active, participating members of the community by offering character development and leadership skills programs.
Our members treat each other with respect, demonstrate civility, serve others at the Club or in the community, and understand their rights and responsibilities as community members. While serving others in a variety of different and age-appropriate ways, they learn empathy, cooperation, leadership and communication. These skills benefit our members in their immediate, daily lives while preparing them for adult life and a career.
3. Healthy Lifestyles
Members engage in daily physical activity, make healthy nutrition choices, employ good resistance and decision making skills and refrain from participating in risky behavior. Several comprehensive health and wellness initiatives in Clubs highlight the lifelong importance of making smart decisions about health and social issues.
Nutritious food is essential for kids to grow and thrive and our Healthy Lifestyles platform provides nutritious meals and snacks every day. This past year, the Cardinals Charities, Albertsons/Safeway, and Larry Fitzgerald’s First Down Fund donated funds to support programming at BGCAZ, enabling us to provide expanded meal offerings during extended program hours.
Sports, fitness, and recreation programs develop physical fitness and encourage students to use their leisure time in a positive manner. In June 2021, BGCAZ and Amazon partnered to host a special workout training to promote healthy lifestyle choices through interactive activities that develop a child’s ability, confidence, and motivation to stay healthy. We also partnered with Arizona Soccer Association and the Mesa Police Department to host a four-week soccer program for player’s grades K-8.
4. Career Pathways & Workforce Readiness
Boys & Girls Clubs are uniquely situated to prepare youth to achieve success in work and life. Clubs help develop soft skills like - perseverance, communication and problem solving - and hard skills - like digital literacy, business etiquette, STEM skills, and financial literacy - that are transferable across industries.
Beginning at a young age, Boys & Girls Clubs encourage youth to identify interests and skills and connect those to potential career paths. Career exploration grows into internship and employment readiness and work-based learning for teens.
The AZYouthForce program provides dynamic career exploration and training for Valley teens and offers them paid internship opportunities with local and national Employer Partners. This year, many teens participated in Rise-Up Retail Credentials, Future Engineers summer programs, and the Fall Job Fair. We work to ensure internship success by connecting interns to on-site mentors and providing an Internship Manager who coaches them to be successful in their placement.
MISSION
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley empowers young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible members of the community.
VISION
To be the premier out-of-school-time provider and leading voice for youth development in Arizona, ensuring youth and teens have the skills and resilience to successfully navigate childhood and prepare for adulthood.
