Boys & Girls Clubs of America Announces “Agenda for America’s Youth”
Out of School time provider champions solutions impacting the nation’s youth
WASHINGTON — Boys & Girls Clubs of America launched their “Agenda for America’s Youth” advocacy platform, focusing on the top issues and solutions impacting the nation’s young people. The organization also released the “Agenda for America’s Youth Policy Guide,” which outlines the current needs of young people while proposing policies and solutions to address them. The guide serves as a framework for local Boys & Girls Clubs to utilize in addressing the issues and challenges of their own community’s young people.
“Boys & Girls Clubs are critical parts of communities across the state, providing high-quality afterschool and out-of-school time programs that enable youth to be prepared for their future,” says Rich Lowney, New Hampshire Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs Board President.
Supporting America’s youth has never been more urgent in our nation’s history. Currently, 11.3 million school-age children are home alone afterschool, without adult supervision, one out of six students fails to graduate on time and nearly half of youth don’t believe the American dream is possible. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Clubs make a difference in the lives of kids and teens every day: 97% of Club teens expect to graduate from high school, and 83% of members believe they can make a difference in their community.
Out-of-school time is at the forefront of our agenda because we believe it is the critical vehicle for accomplishing these solutions for kids and teens, including ensuring Safer Childhoods so every child feels safe physically and emotionally, not just in Clubs, but everywhere. Clubs not only make kids’ childhoods safer, they build the resiliency that will last young people a lifetime. We will champion issues that support youth in making positive decisions and embracing Healthy Lifestyles & Wellness. We prepare youth for life after the Club with Education, Leadership opportunities and Workforce Readiness, equipping them with the skills they need for success in the workforce while fostering partnership that create access to real-life experiences to explore career options. When every young person has access to quality out-of-school time opportunities, when they’re safe emotionally and physically, when they are healthy and when they have the leadership skills for great futures — that is how we ensure equity and inclusion for all young people.
Boys & Girls Clubs in New Hampshire serve over 32,000 youth through membership and community outreach at thirteen Club sites in New Hampshire. In 2018, Boys & Girls Clubs in the state served nearly 475,000 meals and snacks at no cost to youth who attended Clubs.
Clubs are trusted voices in communities across the country — located in nearly every Congressional district, with over 4,600 sites serving more than 4.7 million youth annually, Clubs are in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in Boys & Girls Clubs of America-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. Clubs are open every day after school and, as data indicates, provide programming that give young people access to skills, opportunities and valuable mentors that give them the opportunity to succeed.
“Every day at the Boys & Girls Clubs across New Hampshire, I see firsthand the issues our kids face. I see it in their actions, I hear it in their voices, and I see it on their faces. It’s important that we remember that the issues facing our kids today have a direct impact on the adults they will become and their ability to contribute to our community and country as a whole,” says Lowney