OUR PROGRAMMING

Triple Play: A Game Plan for the Mind, Body and Soul (All Ages)
Triple Play is our comprehensive health and wellness program designed to support the whole child. Through engaging, hands-on activities and positive mentorship, we help local youth build lifelong healthy habits while strengthening their mind, body, and soul.

Healthy Habits (Mind): Addresses how a young person’s health choices are influenced by beliefs, role models, and daily experiences. Members participate in nutrition education and interactive activities that help them explore, practice, and recognize healthy behaviors. Youth learn to evaluate health messages, make informed decisions, and build habits that support their overall well-being.

Daily Challenges (Body): Focuses intentionally on physical literacy and keeping our members active and engaged. Through games, sports, and structured activities in our gym and program spaces, youth build:
Ability – Developing movement skills and overall fitness;
Confidence – Growing belief in their ability to participate in sports and physical activities;
Motivation – Building a positive attitude and lifelong enthusiasm for staying active.

Social Recreation (Soul): Emphasizes social and emotional development by strengthening the skills youth need to thrive. Members practice emotional regulation, develop healthy relationships with themselves and others, and learn responsible decision-making. Through teamwork and positive peer interactions, youth build confidence, character, and connection within our Club community.

PLAY BALL (All Ages)

PLAY BALL allows youth to increase their overall fitness while learning the fundamental skills of baseball and softball through fun and enriching activities.

The PLAY BALL initiative is baseball’s collective effort to encourage young people and communities to engage in baseball- or softball-related activities, including formal leagues, special events and casual forms of play. PLAY BALL events demonstrate the positive way the game can serve as an outlet for physical activity, fun with friends and learning how to play the sport at its most basic levels. PLAY BALL also serves as the League’s youth umbrella in which all associated programs and events derive from the initiative’s consistent, simple message: However You Play Ball, PLAY BALL!

diplomas2Degrees (Ages 13+)

diplomas2Degrees (d2D), a college readiness program, guides Club members as they work toward high school graduation and prepare for post-secondary education and career success. d2D helps teens develop both short- and long-term goals, while familiarizing them post-secondary education through experiences like college tours. It also assists youth in securing financial aid and fosters supportive relationships with adults who can provide support throughout the college experience.

Summer Brain Gain (All Ages)

Summer Brain Gain is a summer learning loss prevention program developed specifically for Boys & Girls Clubs to integrate into their traditional summer schedule. It is comprised of one-week modules with fun, themed activities for elementary school, middle school and high school students that are aligned with common core anchor standards. Each module takes a project-based learning approach: youth engage in a process of learning through discovery, creative expression, group work and a final project or production. As a result, kids develop higher-order thinking skills through the Summer Brain Gain modules while staying on track for the coming school year.

In addition, we have Summer Brain Gain: Read!, a literacy program that complements the larger Summer Brain Gain curriculum. To improve the reading skills of our youth, Summer Brain Gain: Read! is a summer reading program with a new book presented each week per age group, along with supporting activities that bring the book to life.

Passport to Manhood (Ages 8-14)

Passport to Manhood represents a targeted effort to engage young boys in discussions and activities that reinforce character, leadership and positive behavior. Each participant receives a “passport” to underscore the notion that he is on a personal journey of maturation and growth. Each of the program’s 14 sessions use interactive activities to focus on a specific aspect of character and manhood. It also includes a service project where boys learn the importance of giving back to the community.

MyFuture Online Learning Activities (Ages 8-15)

Now more than ever, youth need digital literacy skills in order to connect with friends and family, learn online, and prepare for great futures. Digital Literacy Essentials activities are engaging and exciting project experiences. They guide youth ages 8-15 to explore digital safety, digital privacy, digital presence, online communication and retro gaming. Delivered through MyFuture, Digital Literacy Essentials activities allow youth to upload projects, build a digital portfolio, and earn stars and badges.

Youth of the Year (All Ages)

Youth of the Year is our effort to foster a new generation of leaders, fully prepared to live and lead in a diverse, global and integrated world economy. In the 21st-century world and workplace, leadership skills such as communication, goal-setting and teamwork are essential for everyone – especially young people preparing to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood. Youth of the Year has evolved into a comprehensive leadership development program, which includes:

Youth of the Month - A recognition program that focuses on acknowledging and making Club members aware of their own leadership abilities. Youth of the Month is a Club-driven experience that fosters leadership within the Club. Unlike many BGCA programs, which are implemented in two or three months of dedicated time, Youth of the Month is most commonly run on an ongoing basis over the course of a year. Youth of the Month is primarily a recognition program, but engaging in various leadership experiences is an important part of the program. Clubs have a great deal of flexibility in how they implement Youth of the Month, so specific activities and experiences may vary, but the focus is always on making Club youth aware of leadership abilities they might not think they possesses and cultivating them so that they learn what it means to be a leader.

Junior Youth of the Year - Distinct from the National Youth of the Year program, Junior Youth of the Year seeks to develop junior leaders ages 10-13 within the Club environment. The program fosters Club members’ emerging leadership abilities while preparing them for later participation in the Youth of the Year program. In addition to recognizing the leadership achievements of Club youth, Junior Youth of the Year also cultivates their leadership potential, providing the foundation they need for advanced leadership development, academic excellence and postsecondary success. Through this program, Club youth become motivated to seek opportunities for leadership and to act as responsible citizens and change agents.

National Youth of the Year - Each year, one exceptional Club member is selected to be the National Youth of the Year, serving as an ambassador for Boys & Girls Club youth as well as a voice for all of our nation’s young people. Over the decades, these individuals have exemplified the Boys & Girls Club mission and are proof to the impact Clubs make in transforming and saving kids’ lives. National Youth of the Year winners have achieved success in a variety of industries, including entertainment, politics, business and sports.

Becoming National Youth of the Year is an exciting and inspiring journey. Each year, thousands of Club teens participate in local, state and regional Youth of the Year events. Six teens, including five regional winners and a national military youth winner, advance to the National Youth of the Year Celebration, where one outstanding young person is named Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national teen spokesperson. The National Youth of the Year is a role model, leader and advocate for more than 3 million youth served by Boys & Girls Clubs each year, and all of America’s young people.

Torch Club (Ages 11-13)
Torch Club is a chartered, small-group character and leadership club for boys and girls ages 11 to 13. It's a “club within the Club,” helping to meet the special character-development needs of younger adolescents at a critical stage in their life.

A Torch Club is a powerful vehicle through which young people develop and strengthen their 21st-century leadership skills, giving them a firm foundation of good character and integrity. Torch Club members elect officers and work together to implement projects in the four focus areas: service to Club and community; education; health and fitness; and social recreation.

SMART Girls (Ages 8-18)

SMART Girls is a small-group health, fitness, prevention/education and self-esteem enhancement program designed to meet the developmental needs of girls in three age groups, spanning ages 8 to 18. Through dynamic sessions, participatory activities, field trips and mentoring opportunities with adult women, Club girls explore their own and societal attitudes and values as they build skills for eating right, staying physically fit, getting good health care and developing positive relationships with peers and adults.