Character and Leadership Development

Keystone Club Keystone Club

Keystoning is the Boys & Girls Club Movement’s most dynamic teen program. Keystone Clubs are chartered leadership and service clubs for boys and girls ages 14-18. Keystone Clubs offer activities in six areas: service, character and leadership, education and career, unity, free enterprise and social recreation. Members and their advisors can be nominated to committees that organize regional and national conferences. Each year, Keystoners develop a National Keystone Project; the combined action of hundreds of clubs results in a service project with a national scope. Sponsored by: The Taco Bell Foundation

Torch Club

Torch Clubs are charter leadership and service clubs for boys and girls ages 11-13. A Torch Club is a powerful vehicle through which Club staff can help meet the critical character development needs of younger adolescents. Torch Clubs offer activities in four areas: service, education, health and fitness and social recreation. Each year, Torch Club members from all over the country take part in a service-learning experience through the National Torch Club Project. Sponsored by: Staples Foundation for Learning, Inc. and Staples, Inc.

Teen Leadership Academy (TLA) Teen Leadership Academy (TLA)

This select program is for Club members who are looking to develop the leadership skills needed to be successful in school and their community. Members are chosen for this program through a rigorous application process. TLA offers preparation for high school and college, challenges Club members to serve on their student council, increases community service and prepares Youth of the Year candidates. This program also encourages participation and leadership in youth groups, Keystone Clubs and Torch Clubs. Participants are exposed to business and community leaders, guest speakers, leadership workshops, group discussions and college-level reading assignments.

Youth of the Month

Each month, the staff selects a Youth of the Month who demonstrates academic achievement, participation in Club programs, community service and strong moral character. Teens who are selected automatically qualify for the Youth of the Year competition at their Club.

Youth of the Year Youth of the Year

Learn more about the program and meet our current Youth of the Year here.

Education and Career Development

Project Learn

Project Learn enhances the skills young people learn at school through “high-yield” learning activities at the Club. The program also encourages collaborations between Club staff, parents and teachers. Project Learn emphasizes leisure reading, writing activities, discussions with adults, homework help and games like Scrabble® which help develop cognitive skills. Formally evaluated by Columbia University, Project Learn has been proven to boost the academic performance of Club members.

Goals for Graduation

Goals for Graduation, a Project Learn resource, introduces academic goal setting to Club members ages 6-15 by linking future aspirations with concrete actions. Members set achievable “Know-I-Can” Goals, more challenging “Think-I-Can” Goals and yearly “Believe-I-Can” Goals. Members then create an action plan leading to short and long-term gains. A comprehensive guidance strategy helps members connect even their smallest results to their highest dreams. An encouraging recognition strategy buoys members as their successes are supported at every step of their journey.

Power Hour Power Hour

A comprehensive homework help and tutoring program, POWER HOUR is designed to raise the academic proficiency of Club members, helping them become more successful in school. Sponsored by: The JCPenney Afterschool Fund

CareerLaunch

CareerLaunch encourages Club members ages 13-18 to assess their skills and interests, explore careers, make sound educational decisions and prepare to join our nation’s ever-changing work force. Club staff use our Career Exploration Quick Reference Guide to help teens build job readiness. CareerLaunch Teen Tips is an easy-to-read booklet for teens full of practical job-hunting advice that comes with a portfolio for storing resumes and job applications. The dynamic CareerLaunch website also provides extensive career explorations, college and job search information and interactive activities.

Money Matters Money Matters

Money Matters promotes financial responsibility among Club members ages 13-18 by building basic money management skills. Participants learn how to manage a checking account, budget, save and invest. They also learn about starting small businesses and paying for college. The Money Matters website offers teens an engaging online tool for building their money management knowledge through interactive activities, games and tools.

Ultimate Journey

This internationally recognized, award-winning environmental education program leads Club members ages 6-12 on a fun-filled journey into the amazing world of plants and animals. Through participation in games, crafts and discovery-based activities, young people develop an awareness of the environment, acquire a better understanding of how human actions affect nature and practice math and science skills while learning about conservation.

Jr. Staff Career Development

Junior Staff Career Development is a comprehensive program that allows Club members ages 11-18 to explore careers in youth or human services, particularly within the Boys & Girls Club Movement. Through hands-on experiences with the community, field trips to service organizations and one-on-one guidance from Club staff, youth prepare for future roles as human services professionals or volunteer leaders in their community.

Health Literacy

The Health Literacy Program employs trained teen mentors to provide weekly one-on-one reading assistance to Club members ages 6-10. Through the use of age-appropriate stories on health-related topics, this program aims to increase participants’ understanding of the importance of healthy behaviors, while strengthening reading comprehension and vocabulary skills.

Environmental Protection

With help from Rutgers University students, Club members learn about the environment, energy conservation and recycling. Teen members join Rutgers students in the community, helping to provide energy conservation tips to other agencies.

MyAccess

This award-winning, web-delivered writing instructional tool helps Club members improve writing skills and scores on high-stakes writing tests. The online software tool grades essays instantly using IntelliMetric™ automated essay scoring technology, providing teachers and students with immediate diagnostic and holistic feedback. This frees the education coordinators for targeted instruction and motivates members to revise their essays and build their writing skills.

Club Tech Club Tech

Through Club Tech, Clubs receive a comprehensive package of the latest Microsoft products. Technology programs teach members basic computer skills and introduce them to the creative side of technology through digital movie making, music making, photography, graphic design and Web development. Club Tech also places an emphasis on the importance of Internet safety.

Health and Life Skills

SMART Moves SMART Moves

(Skills Mastery and Resistance Training)
This nationally acclaimed comprehensive prevention program helps young people resist alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, as well as premature sexual activity. This year-round program encourages collaborations among Club staff, youth, parents and representatives from other community organizations. More than simply emphasizing a “Say No” message, the program involves young people in discussions, role-playing and analyses of media and peer influence. SMART Moves features engaging, interactive activities that increase peer support, enhance life skills, build resilience and strengthen leadership skills. The program consists of several components for a variety of age groups.

SMART Girls

An outgrowth of the popular and effective SMART Moves program, SMART Girls is a program designed to meet the developmental needs of girls ages 8-12 and 13-17. This prevention/education program encourages healthy attitudes and lifestyles that enable girls to develop to their full potential. SMART Girls enhances self-esteem and builds skills for eating right, staying fit, getting good health care and developing positive relationships with peers and adults. Through dynamic sessions, highly participatory activities, field trips and mentoring opportunities, Club girls examine societal attitudes and learn to develop their own set of values. Sponsored by: The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc.

Street SMART

Street SMART is a prevention program that teaches youth ages 11-15 about gang awareness, helping them avoid gang activity, resolve conflicts and become positive influences for peers. Street SMART serves as the National Project for Torch Clubs annually. Sponsored by: The Allstate Foundation

Passport to Manhood

Passport to Manhood promotes responsibility while reinforcing positive behavior in male Club members ages 11-14. Passport to Manhood consists of 14 small-group sessions, each of which concentrates on a specific aspect of manhood through highly interactive activities. Each participant is issued his own “passport” to underscore the idea that he is on a journey of maturation and personal growth.

Youth for Unity

Youth for Unity provides parents, teens and youth ages 6-12 with a foundation of activities that help them better understand diversity and offer ways to combat prejudice and discrimination.

Triple Play Healthy Habits Triple Play Healthy Habits

This life-enhancing program empowers our new generation of young people to eat right. Triple Play’s nutrition component, Healthy Habits, teaches the power of healthy choices and helps Club members learn about calories, vitamins and minerals, the food pyramid and appropriate portion sizes.

The Arts

ImageMakers: Photography ImageMakers: Photography

This comprehensive photography program teaches Club members ages 6-18 the art of photography, allowing them to express themselves in innovative ways. This program is part of a national initiative that delivers a state-of-the-art photography curriculum and helps members learn about black-and-white, color, digital and alternative process photography. ImageMakers offers a programming resource guide full of creative activities, small grants for Clubs to strengthen photography programs and an annual photography contest that provides local, regional and national recognition. Photographs selected at the national level are exhibited at the BGCA National Conference and winners in the portfolio category receive college scholarships. Sponsored by: The Circuit City Foundation

Turning The Tables on Violence: DJ Program Turning The Tables on Violence: DJ Program

This program for teens teaches youth ages 13-18 how to “spin” records as a DJ. The main focus of the program is to prevent youth violence through artistic creativity. Participants work with a local DJ twice a week, learning the skills necessary to become a DJ. During these weekly sessions, local law enforcement officials meet with the participants and talk with them about avoiding negative behaviors that lead to violence.

Media Arts

This program introduces teens ages 13-18 to video production. Participants learn about both sides of the camera—filming and production. The long-term goal of the program is to create a teen-based talk show that can be aired on local cable stations.

Digital Photo Club

Digital Photo Club introduces teens ages 13-18 to digital photography. Participants learn about the art of taking digital photos as well as editing them with computer software.

Pod Casting

Club members ages 12 and above work in a soundproof studio to create their own radio shows. These shows are then published on the Internet and available for thousands of listeners across the world.

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture provides members with a host of fun, handcrafted activities that develop artistic skills and encourage creativity.

Music/Piano Class

Using a laptop, a USB keyboard and software, members learn the basics of playing the piano.

Sports, Fitness and Recreation

Triple Play Healthy Habits Triple Play

Triple Play teaches youth how to make healthier choices. This national program takes a holistic approach to educating boys and girls about good nutrition, physical fitness and developing character. In addition to components for the mind and body, the Triple Play program gets at the soul of the Club experience—the Games Room. Each program component can stand alone, yet integrating them allows Club members to reap more powerful, lifelong benefits.

Sports Activities Include:
  • Small Fry Basketball
  • Lacrosse
  • Street Hockey
  • Table Tennis Team
  • Double Dutch
  • Volleyball