Programs
Our Impact
The true work of Boys & Girls Clubs – the heart of what we do –
lies fittingly at the center of our Formula for Impact. To create the optimal Outcome-Driven Club Experience, Clubs provide high-yield activities and targeted programs, actively encourage young people to attend more frequently, and employ Five Key Elements for Positive Youth Development.
The latter component emerged as critically important in a 2004-05 research effort conducted by the Search Institute and BGCA to identify quality strategies and practices that Clubs use to promote the positive, healthy development of youth. The findings showed that Clubs have the potential to increase their impact on young people when they make concerted efforts to implement five key elements in their operations.
These Five Key Elements
for Positive Youth Development
are:
- A Safe, Positive Environment
- Fun
- Supportive Relationships
- Opportunities and Expectations
- Recognition
Subsequent research conducted for BGCA highlighted the importance of regular attendance for achieving impact. A 30-month study published in 2009 found that youth who attended the Club at least 52 times per year were more likely to demonstrate greater positive outcomes related to Academic Success, Good Character and Citizenship, and Healthy Lifestyles. The positive effects were even greater when they attended 104 times per year.
Now, we have new insights on just how much of a positive difference these components of a high-quality Club Experience may make for young people , through regular attendance data being collected. Once at least six months’ worth of attendance data has been collected, the system calculates a Frequency of Attendance score for each member. Members are scored as:
- Highly Engaged: those who attend the Club, on average, two or more times per week
- Engaged: members who attend, on average, at least once a week, but less than twice a week
- Occasional Attenders: who attend, on average, less than once a week
In addition to asking questions related to our priority outcomes, the National Outcomes Survey asks youth about their perceptions of the Club using questions related to the Five Key Elements for Positive Youth Development. Responses to these questions are scored to identify how many members are having an Optimal Club Experience and how many are not. Our Club has consistently rated in the upper percentiles for positive club experience.
