Boys
and Girls Clubs of America
Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin and Elizabeth Hammersley
established the Boys and Girls Club of America in 1860 in Hartfod, Connecticut.
Originally, this club was Boys Club, but they recognize the fact that girls are
a part of their cause, the national organization’s name was changed to Boys and
Girls Club of America in 1990 (Boys and Girls). According to the textbook, the national
goals of the Boys and Girls Club of America include the following: citizenship
education and leadership development; health, fitness, and preparation for
leisure; educational vocational motivations; intergroup understanding and value
development; and enrichment of youth family and community life (Mclean). By the
goal of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Ronald J Gidwitz, who became
chairman of BGCA National Board of Governors in 1998, operates the organization
nowadays. Furthermore, there are many people listed on the board of directors of
the organization, Jim L. Clark is a representative of the organization. Clark
is the president and CEO of Boys and Girls Club of America since 2012 (Boys and
Girls).
Following the Boys and Girls Clubs of America’s national
goal, they serve 4.4 million youth members in more than 4,300 club locations. According
to the textbook, its members come from minority families (65%), are 6 to 10
years old (43%), and 11 to 18 years old (52%), and are closely equal
gender-wise: male (55%) and female (45%) (Mclean). This club provides many
leisure opportunities and programs: character, leadership, education, career,
health, life skills, the arts, sports, fitness, recreation, and specialized
programs such as Family Plus (Boys and Girls). To cover all the programs,
50,000 full-time trained professionals and more than 172,000 adult volunteers
work for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Although each club is an
independent organization with its own board and professional staff, the national
headquarters and seven regional offices provide essential services to local
clubs in such areas as personnel recruitment and management training, program
research and development, fundraising and public relations, and building design
and construction assistance (Mclean).
To operate the organization, many companies help the Boys
and Girls Club of America. The represented corporate sponsors are Microsoft and
Comcast. They are helping a million youth learn new technology skills,
preparing them for great careers and a successful life. Microsoft Corporation has
a relationship with Boys and Girls of America since 1999. Microsoft provided
more than 100 million dollars worth of Microsoft-donated software and more than
7,000 Club staff has participated in technology training. Comcast is also big
sponsor of Boys and Girls Club of America since 2010. Comcast provides 39
million dollar in-kind airtime and media assets and technology tools, resources
and programs to Boys and Girls Club of America and their members throughout the
nation. (Boys and Girls). Furthermore, there are other many partners of Boys
and Girls Club of America such as Coca-Cola, Taco Bell, Staples, Toyota, UPS,
AT&T, Macy’s, Bank of America and other many corporations. The big corporations
donated lots of money to the Boys and Girls Club of America. Moreover, the
organization accepts individual donations through their official web site which
is www.bgca.org.
According to the Boys and Girls Club of America annual
report book of 2012, they use lots of budget on Leadership Training and
Development of Youth Programs from their income because the organization makes
an effort to help successful program graduates. According to Richmond’s
article, only 75% of high school students graduate, so Boys and Girls Club of
America wants to help their graduation and they have good programs for their
successful graduation such as education and career programs. Boys and Girls
Club of America introduces their program like this, “Boys and Girls Club of
America has implemented the programmatic strategy Every Member, Every Year,
designed so that all Clubs, no matter their size or resources, can partner with
youth, parents, schools and other community stakeholders to implement at least
one of three approaches: academic enrichment and school engagement; targeted
dropout prevention; and intensive intervention and case management. Our aim to
ensure that all Club members graduate from high school on time, ready for a
post-secondary education and a 21st century career” (Boys and Girls).
Thus, Boys and Girls Club of America has good programs graduate and they make
an effort to high school students get diploma.
The result of Boys and Girls Club of America’s effort is
that, there are lots of celebrities who were members of the organization. Among
them, Denzel Washington has been a spokesperson of this organization since
1992. Washington is an American actor, film director, and film producer who
learned to dream from Boys and Girl Clubs of America (Boys and Girls). Furthermore,
Washington wrote a book about mentorship A
hand to Guide Me with proceeds benefitting Boys and Girls Club which he
experienced when he was a member of the organization (BGCS). Moreover, Jennifer
Lopez who is an American actress, dancer, fashion designer, perfumer,
philanthropist, producer, recording artist and television personality became a
spokesperson in 2010 with Denzel Washington. She was a member of Boys and Girls
Club’s performing Arts Program when she was young. Lopez also had a good
experience and her dream grown up when she was active in the organization
(Sciarreto). Nowadays, the successful spokespeople are a good model of the Boys
and Girls Clubs of America, so they have a good influence on children who are
leaders of the future world.
If I got asked if I would like to work for the Boys and Girls
Club of America, I would say, No to be frank. I would not like to work for this
organization because as you show the chart, the average income is $35,000 a
year. It is a little lower than other occupations. Therefore, I think I could
not work for this organization due to maintenance of livelihood in the U.S.
However, I would like to work with children and teenagers, so I have a good
mind to volunteer for this organization.
Industry: Social Assistance – HQ: Atlanta, GA (Careerbliss)
There
two reasons why I choose this organization for the research paper. I never heard
about this organization before I took this course because my home country,
Korea, does not have this kind of organization. Therefore, I just wondered
about the Boys and Girls Club of America. Furthermore, when I searched about
this club, I saw the Boys and Girls Clubs Code which caught my eye at first.
I
believe in God and the right to worship according to my own faith and religion.
I
believe in America and the American way of life… in the Constitution and the
Bill of Rights.
I
believe in fair play, honesty and sportsmanship.
Nowadays, many people
are living competitive society, so sometimes people say lie and they do not
play or work fairly. Furthermore, today’s schools are teaching just way to win
without not a situation when they lose. However, Boys and Girls Clubs of America
teaches fair play, honesty and sportsmanship.
Work
Cited
“Boys and Girls Clubs
of America” Careerbliss.com. Careerbliss. Web. 01 Mar 2014.
Boys and Girls Clubs of
America. Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
BGCA, Web.
01
Mar. 2014.
Boys and Girls Club of
Santa Monica, “Jennifer Lopez Joins Denzel Washington as National
Spokesperson
for BGCA”. Los Angeles. 1 Dec. 2010. Web.
Mclean, Daniel D. and
Amy R. Hurd. Kraus’ Recreation and
Leisure in Modern Society.
Jones
& Bartlett Learning, 2012. Print.
Richmond, Emily. “High
School Graduation Rate Hits 40-Year Peak in the U.S.” theatlantic.com.
The
Atlantic, 6 Jun. 2013. Web.
Sciarreto, Amy.
Jennifer. “Jennifer Lopez Joins Denzel Washington” Artistdirect.com.
Artist Direct, 30 Nov. 2010. Web.
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