For nearly 130 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston has remained committed to providing rich opportunities for the youth of Boston and Chelsea, including 12,500 during last year alone.
“Our Clubs are focused on offering a breadth and depth of programs that are not only fun, but also open up opportunities for our members to grow and succeed in their lives after the Club,” explains Michelle Perez Vichot, Executive Vice President, Operations at Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston. In this post, we highlight a few of BGCB’s most impactful programs that are creating opportunities the youth of Boston and Chelsea.
Aquatics
Our dedicated staff and program partners ensure that each of our members has access to countless activities, such as our swim program. In 2020, more than 100 members passed the swim test at one of BGCB’s five pools. Many children can even find a community and hone their teamwork skills by joining their Club’s swim team.
Clubs offer a breadth and depth of programs that revolve around their pools, including swim lessons, lifeguard trainings, in-service trainings for aquatic staff, competitive swim programs, recreational swim, and a range of other awesome water activities.
At Edgerley Family South Boston Club, Aquatics Director and Club alumna Tia Ferrie has been managing more than just the challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic. The Club’s pool has been closed since the boiler went out at the end of 2020 and the replacement boiler has been placed on backorder, but Ferrie has not been deterred from offering a fun and engaging program nonetheless.
“The pool has been very still and silent, not quite what we’re used to at all in our department,” explained Ferrie. “I call it a dry spell like no other!”
Ferrie has swapped out her usual swim team water practices for a lot more of what Clubs like to refer to in aquatics as DRYLAND.
“A typical DRYLAND workout for us here at Edgerley Family South Boston Club consists of a blend of cardio exercises and different calisthenics to strengthen specific muscle groups,” continued Ferrie. “We sort of turned it into our very own team bootcamp!”
With such an unusual swim season this past year on top of adjusting to the new rules of coronavirus, Ferrie and her team are looking forward to some kind of competition with virtual swim meets. In the meantime, Ferrie has figured out a fantastic way to keep the fire burning in the athletes on her team.
“At the end of each DRYLAND practice we finish with some friendly competition in a game of the athletes’ choice,” she explains. “This is usually the craziest but fun part of practice because we get a chance to connect, share, laugh, and work together on coming up with a decision on what to play and how to conduct it safely!”
Music and Production
Each year, BGCB’s music program allows members to create original songs with professional-grade instruments and high-quality music production software. Members can learn from some of Boston’s brightest young musicians through BGCB’s partnerships with Berklee College of Music and Music & Youth. And each year, at BGCB’s in-person and virtual events, the stars of the evening are frequently the incredibly talented members who steal the show with their performances.
While the pandemic pushed music clubhouses to adapt, music programs have continued at Clubs throughout Boston and Chelsea. At Charlestown Club, Anders Olson and Duane Leatherberry have teamed up to ensure that their members are staying connected to the music clubhouse and continuing their musical pursuits in spite of the many challenges that the pandemic has presented.
“We’ve been so focused on preserving the relationships with members that we established before the pandemic,” explains Olson, Charlestown Club’s Music Director. “We are here for our members who can join us in person, and we are also making a focused effort on connecting with members who are only able to join us through virtual programs too.”
Since the school year began, Charlestown Club has been able to offer daily hour-long in-person music education sessions as well as 40-minute virtual piano lessons three days per week. Music & Youth has played a key role in ensuring members at home have access to instruments.
And these efforts have been appreciated by the Charlestown community. “Piano lessons for my daughter have been going great,” added a Charlestown parent. “She loves them and her teacher has been wonderful. Thank you for bringing music into our home.”
While it has been challenging to adapt, staff like Olson and Leatherberry believe it is a worthwhile endeavor that has brought a sense of normalcy into the lives of members during an extraordinarily abnormal time.
“We hope to see all of our members back at the Club as soon as we return to operating at full capacity,” says Leatherberry, Charlestown Club’s Music Assistant. “By maintaining a presence in the lives of our members throughout the past year, we’ll be able to pick up right where we left off with them.”
Career Readiness
As members near graduation, they can look to Ready to Work, BGCB’s career development initiative, to prepare for higher education and a career. Each fall, the Career Forum allows teens to learn from experts in various professional fields. Members can also join the Keystone and Torch Clubs to strengthen their leadership and community outreach skills. After graduation, members join an expansive network of BGCB alumni. This allows them to look forward to the next chapter of their lives while staying connected with their Club, a safe space with caring adults which has given them the room to grow, learn, express, and achieve.
Additionally, Ready to Work Summer Campus was created for summer 2020 to connect teens and young alumni with professional development opportunities (from their own homes). Members apply to become RTW Fellows and work all year on skill building and readiness for paid summer internships and mentorship during the summer. In addition to their paid internships, the summer of 2020’s virtual platform offered members: opportunities for community service including a partnership with a community in Ngangi, Uganda building a community center; wellness exercises; a blog to share ideas; a podcast with community leaders sharing their vision of leadership; and workshops with mentors and BGCB partners.
Ready to Work Fellows across Clubs have created a group, Ready to Serve, that is focused primarily on community service. Recently, they kicked off “Socks in a Box,” a drive to collect new pairs of socks for Boston’s homeless population. For more information on this project, click here.
At Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Club, Teen Education Coordinator Adeja Tavares has been focused on supporting the Club’s graduating high school seniors during a very different kind of spring. This year, Tavares has shifted the robust suite of College Club programs that help with SAT prep, college applications, essay writing, and scholarship and financial aid applications into a completely virtual format.
“We’ve been fortunate to have the flexibility and support of our alumni and program partners throughout this process,” explains Tavares. “This year, in collaboration with Yawkey Club of Roxbury we were able to host a virtual HBCU Alumni Panel and are planning an HBCU Virtual Tour week.”
Tavares has also offered ongoing SAT prep and college admissions support through partnerships with Kaplan Institute and Ann’s Christian Learning Center. And while the format and delivery of these programs has been completely different, the outcomes have remained consistent with years past.
“I’m hearing from members with good news quite often,” continued Tavares behind a proud smile. “Whether it is another acceptance or a new scholarship, it feels great to be able to continue supporting members throughout this incredibly challenging time.”
In 2020, 98% of graduating seniors at BGCB Clubs were accepted into college or trade school. The other 2% secured jobs or internships.
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