PROGRAM REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2003 - SEPTEMBER 2004
PROGRAM REPORT
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS
OF THE SUNCOAST IN CLEARWATER
October 2003-September 2004
About Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast in Clearwater
A Valuable County Resource
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast in Clearwater has been a leader in youth development
for more than 40 years, making a pronounced and positive difference in the lives of young
people from disadvantaged economic, social and family circumstances.
Some of our major funding partners include:
· Boys & Girls Club of America
· Juvenile Welfare Board
· United Way
In recent years, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast has experienced rapid growth,
increasing the number of youth served to over 500 countywide.
This dynamic growth is matched by a firm commitment to offer young people the
leadership and guidance so often lacking in their lives. Through creative programming
and a proven youth development strategy, Clubs help young people develop the life skills
so vital in today's competitive society.
Four key characteristics define the essence of a Boys & Girls Club. All are critical in
exerting a positive impact on the life of a child:
· Dedicated youth facility, the Boys & Girls Club is a place - an actual neighborhood-
based building designed solely for youth programs and activities;
· Open daily, the Club is available every day, after school, when young people have
free time and need positive, productive outlets from 2:00 to 7:00pm;
· Professional staff, full-time, trained youth development professionals, providing
positive role models and mentors, volunteers provide key supplementary support;
· Available and affordable to all youth, reaching out to young people who cannot
afford, or may lack access to other community programs. Membership costs are low,
$10 - 15 per year.
By offering positive alternatives to the host of negative forces and pressures facing
today's youth, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast in Clearwater is effectively battling
juvenile crime and gang involvement, alcohol and other drug use, premature sexual
activity, alienation, and apathy.
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Effective Programs - Continued Success
The primary areas of emphasis for the Wood Valley Unit have included: serving more
young people; enhancing opportunities for teens; and implementing effective program
initiatives in five core areas: Character and Leadership Development; Education and
Career Development; Health and Life Skills; The Arts; and Sports, Fitness and
Recreation.
Our programs are designed to support achievement of the youth development outcomes
our Movement has articulated for young people leaving our Clubs at age 18:
· Positive Self Identity
· Educational, Employment, Social, Emotional and Cultural Competencies
· Community and Civic Involvement
· Health and Well Being
· A Moral Compass
With highly effective programs in place to address such pressing issues as gang
involvement and drug abuse prevention, it is now time for Boys & Girls Clubs of the
Suncoast in Clearwater to turn its attention with equal vigor toward a comprehensive, all-
embracing approach to family support programs for our members and their families.
The Wood Valley Unit has demonstrated, beyond question, its unique ability to galvanize
a community network that can address the most critical issues facing young people and
their families.
The following set of operating principles characterizes Boys & Girls Clubs of the
Suncoast Wood Valley Unit's Programs:
· Focus on prevention - intervention before problems appear;
· Facilitation of both formal and informal networks among parents, agencies and
systems within the community;
· Developmental view of youth - belief in young people's capacity for growth;
· A basic philosophy of partnership between parents, the Club, and the child's school for
the benefit ofthe child; recognition that strong families mean stronger children; and
· A view of youth, parents and community residents as resources in the work of the
Club.
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Overview of Programs
Between October 2003 and September 2004, the Wood Valley Unit became a well
rounded club with various effective programs and approached to reaching youth and their
families. The following programs have been successfully developed and implemented:
POWER HOUR
Power Hour is a comprehensive homework help and tutoring program. Power hour runs
throughout the school year and is designed to raise the academic proficiency of Club
members. Certified teachers provide homework assistance and one on one reading
assistance to striving students Monday through Thursday. Each member who volunteers
to participate in the Power hour program, receives daily Power Points that are added up
toward special prizes, trips and recognition total of 28 members voluntarily participated
in the Power Hour program representing 80% of the club's average daily attendees.
In May 2004 we awarded Marisa Mojica with the prize for Power Hour Student of the
Year. Marisa is a third grader who earned 563 points throughout the year and is on the
honor roll at Eisenhower Elementary School. Power Hour has proven to be a real
incentive to motivating students to complete homework assignments and work on study
habits. Our motto for the program is "Homework is part of the Grade!"
SMART Girls
SMART Girls is a small-group program that utilizes a combination of informational and
experiential learning activities to help female Club members develop healthy attitudes
and lifestyles. Participants explore their own and societal attitudes and values as they
practice life skills for nutritional eating, physical fitness, accessing the health care system,
resolving conflict and building healthy mentoring relationships. SMART Girls is a part
of Boys & Girls Clubs of America's SMART (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training)
Moves family, an array of programs for equipping Club members with the crucial health
and life skills needed to become healthy, successful adults. SMART Girls was originally
published in 1998, and was designed for girls aged 10 to 14 years.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America has redesigned SMART Girls, so it can be used with two
age groups, 8 to 12 and 13 to 17. The program design features interactive, experiential
methods and approaches, including the use of anecdotes, role-plays, field trips, guest
speakers and mentors. The program's sessions also have been redesigned to stand alone,
allowing Club facilitators to tailor the structure and content of the program to meet the
unique needs of different groups of girls.
A total of 10 Girls participated in the fall of2003. By the time the program was
implemented into the summer camp program, the total number of participants increased
to 16 girls. So far 10 Girls have completed section one of the SMART Girls curriculum,
It's Your Body. All girls who completed this section have now moved on to section two,
Take Care of Your Body.
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KEYSTONE CLUB
Keystone is a group club that instills leadership skills and responsibility among older club
members. Keystone is a vibrant teen-driven movement addressing issues and needs
important in the lives of teens. Keystone members elect officers, choose their own
activities and plan and implement community service projects. A national charter entitles
a Keystone Club to participate in regional and national Keystone conferences. Currently
Keystone has 10 active members.
The Keystone members have worked hard on a vibrant plan for the teen programming.
They developed a plan and blueprint to have the teen room renovated through a
partnership with the Southeast Florida Safety Council. The Safety Council hosted a
benefit for the teens and raised $7,000 for the teen room renovation.
In addition, the City and the Wood Valley Unit has formed a partnership to solidify the
teen programming. The City is providing a full time teen director for the center, which
will finally give the teens a strong adult advocate whose time is devoted solely to them.
The teen program has also received support from the Eckerd Family Youth Foundation in
the form of a seed grant, which will provide an additional part time adult advisor, money
for new furniture, T-shirts, Leadership training, and the renovation. Total support for the
teen center is in the range of approximately $80,000.
The teens are organized and ready to continue with their next stage of development. The
Executive officers of the teen council meet monthly with four other Boys & Girls Club
teen centers and weekly here at the club. They have determined two major fundraisers
and hope to raise an additional $15,000. The first fundraiser is a Vote For Youth
Campaign. Between September 2004 and the Presidential inauguration, the teens hope to
get 100 people to donate $100 each in an effort to raise $10,000. The slogan is Vote for
America's Youth - Donate today and change the world tomorrow:
.:. Support the future Leaders of America
.:. Invest in Youth
.:. America's Future is in Your Hands
.:. Give the Gift of the American Dream
Teens also plan to participate in voter registration drives at their schools, in their
communities and at concerts. They can earn $1.25 per registration and get into concerts
for free when they go out and work in the lines. Funds raised will be used for attending
national youth conference, college tours and social events.
Sports and Recreation
Throughout the year members were exposed to sports, fitness and recreational activities
to promote unity, team spirit, and social development. Activities included cooperative
group games, obstacles courses, exercise, fun play, flag football and basketball. Other
activities included the Tennis club and the Step Team.
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GANG PREVENTION THROUGH TARG~TED OUTREACH (GPTTO)
This community-based program provides training, materials and technical assistance to
Clubs and their community partners to keep young people ages 6-18 from becoming
involved in gangs. The program's intervention component helps youth who are already
involved with gangs to leave that lifestyle. The program uses community mobilization,
recruitment strategies, effective programming and case management tools to direct young
people to positive alternatives. GANG PREVENTION/INTERVENTION through TARGETED
OUTREACH is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
There are 28 members enrolled through GPTTO. 24 are active. The GPTTO Task Force
consists of representatives from the Boys & Girls Clubs, Urban League, Police Athletic
League, The Sheriffs office, the State Attorney's Office, the Department of Juvenile
Justice and our local Board of Directors. The task force meets quarterly to update
potential gang activity, discuss viable options and alternatives to gang like activity and
share resources in an effort to prevent gang violence and juvenile delinquency.
Overall, the Wood Valley club provides a safe place for first time juvenile offenders to
complete community service hours and get involved with other positive teens. Through
this initiative, we have successfully integrated 8 first time offenders into our regular
programming without the harm of labeling them or singling them out. As far as other
club members are concerned, these teens are just members of the club. No one, not even
the targeted youth, knows they have been recruited through this initiative.
SUMMER CAMP
The Wood Valley Unit conducted S.M.A.R.T. Camp 2004. We used the SMART
Moves curriculum for our theme with some added diverse activities to give the campers a
wholesome and enriching experience. Skills Mastery And Resistance Training is
designed to provide extensive life skills development strategies to youth of all ages.
Youth develop resistance skills to at-risk behaviors through interactive, educational
activities. Groups were arranged according to the SMART Moves strategy:
· Smart Kids (2 groups-5-7 & 8-9)
· Start SMART (10-12)
· Stay SMART (13-15)
· Leaders In Training-LIT (14-17)
78 children ages 5-12 participated in SMART Moves this summer. Classed were held
every morning for one hour. 54 children graduated from the SMART Moves program.
There was a real graduation ceremony complete with paper graduation regalia the
children made in arts and crafts. The program is being continued in the current school
year.
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In addition to the SMART Moves, four teens were accepted as Leaders in Training.
These are current and past teen volunteers of the club who have demonstrated a real
commitment to service to the club. These volunteers were assigned to adult leaders as
apprentices for part of the day and participated in leadership and career driven programs
the rest of the day. Those programs are:
· Job Ready
· Career Launch
· Jr. Staff Development
Other activities for all campers included field trips, Special events and guests, arts and
crafts, sports and recreation, gender specific national programs (passport, smart girls, etc),
and cub scouts.
Also the camp featured Multicultural performance activities for a two-week session in
June. Campers learned hip-hop, jazz and salsa. Campers also participated in chorus and
voice lessons. During this session, all SMART moves groups were required to create a
skit that focused on a particular social issue that they had been working on (i.e. smoking,
peer pressure, health, etc.)
The Wood Valley Unit really raised the bar on programming this summer in an effort to
boost fall membership. The theory is that if the summer is packed with diverse,
educational and fun activities, retention of summer campers into fall after-school
programming will increase greatly, and it has worked so far. Last year the first day of fall
program only produced 10 to 12 attendees. This year that number increased to 27 and is
now up to 34 a day. About 50% were new summer camp participants.
Special Activities/Events
The Neighborhood Watch continues to meet at the club monthly. In addition to that the
Compass group meets here as well to discuss the future needs of juvenile offenders. That
group consists of representatives from the Neighborhood Watch, State Attorney's Office,
Department of Juvenile Justice, Clearwater Police, and parents. The club is becoming a
more appropriate meeting place for the community as a whole.
This year, the facilities were very well utilized both indoor and outdoor. The club and the
park are alive with activities including soccer, baseball games, football and basketbal1.
Individuals and groups have used the facility for meetings, conferences small parties,
Church, and even baby showers.
A very special event took place on December 17, 2003. The Wood Valley unit celebrated
its first anniversary in this location. More than 100 professionals, public servants,
children and families came out for food fun and fellowship with us. We had special
performances by our kids and door prizes. We hope to have a big celebration on our fifth
year.
Overall, the club is doing exceedingly well with a few milestones to go. Our currentomembership stands at 153 active members.
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