Mission | Vision | Values | History | Leadership | Our Board | FAQs
GREAT FUTURES START HERE.
For more than a century, Boys & Girls Clubs have helped put young people on the path to great futures.
Our Mission
Our Clubs strive to offer safe and encouraging places to go during out of school time to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as Caring, Productive, Responsible citizens.
Our Vision (C.P.R. Saves Lives!)
We have a dream that every child who walks through our doors becomes:
- CARING: We want them to be engaged by caring, friendly, welcoming staff who help them to become skilled in understanding and navigating their own and others’ emotions, values, and interests.
- PRODUCTIVE: We want them to have positive learning opportunities and a variety of Club experiences that foster creativity and imagination while preparing them to graduate from high school ready for the next steps.
- RESPONSIBLE: We want them to be engaged citizens, involved in the community, and modelling strong character and healthy lifestyle choices that lead to Great Futures!
Our Values
- Win-Win Mindset: We believe in building supportive, healthy relationships for kids in a nurturing, Caring environment, free from discrimination and unhealthy conflict, and where they can learn to respect, care about, and support one another.
- Growth Mindset: We believe in giving kids a safe place to learn, grow, and develop the skills and talents they need to be Productive, whether in academic achievement, or simply better health and life skills.
- Self-Control Mindset: We believe in giving kids opportunities to become Responsible, to develop control of their own behaviors and goals, and to take direct action that will result in real, positive internal and external change in their lives.
Our History
Boys & Girls Clubs of America had its beginnings in 1860 with three women in Hartford, Connecticut – Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin and Elizabeth Hammersley. Believing that boys who roamed the streets should have a positive alternative, they organized the first Club. With character development as the cornerstone of the experience, the Club focused on capturing boys interests, improving their behavior and increasing their personal expectations and goals. A cause was born.
Click here to learn about the history of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Ocoee Region.
CLUB IMPACT
Kids and teens who regularly attend a Club do better than their peers.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s research shows that young people who attend a Club regularly tend to do better than their peers nationally. For instance:
- 68% of Club 12th graders volunteer at least once per month, compared with 39% of 12th graders nationally
- 90% of Club ninth graders report abstaining from drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, compared with 77% of ninth graders nationally
- 31% of Club girls ages 12 to 15 are physically active every day, compared with 23% of girls in the same age range nationally
- A comparison of NYOI and National Survey on Drug Use and Health data suggests that low-income, regularly attending Club members ages 12 to 17 outperform their peers nationally on school grades. About three-quarters of these Club members report earning mostly As and Bs in school, compared with 67 percent of youth nationally
For more information about how Boys & Girls Clubs impact kids and teens, read our National Youth Outcomes Report.
Latest report shows high numbers on Club Experience Indicator and Continuous Quality Improvement
In 2004-05, BGCA undertook a comprehensive study to identify core Club practices that foster positive youth development. The research yielded strategies and practices that are meticulously measured for impact at the local Club level.
In the 2017 Report, your Ocoee Region Boys & Girls Clubs scored at or better (and in most cases, significantly better) than the national average in 23 out of 25 categories! Click the image above to download the PDF.