Boys and Girls Clubs of America
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national non-profit youth organization that links together individual clubs throughout the United States with the aim of providing places to go, activities, health and fitness enhancement, and programs for young people.
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[edit] History
According to the group's web site, the organization "had its beginnings in 1860 with several women in Hartford, Connecticut." The first club was opened there—for boys only—and soon other communities in the region decided that such places would be good for their boys. In 1906, 53 independent Boys' Clubs, as they were known then, came together in Boston to form a national organization, the Federated Boys' Clubs and in 1931 they became Boys Clubs of America. In 1956, the group was chartered by Congress, and the charter was updated—after an agreement was reached with Girls Clubs of America, which changed its name to Girls, Inc.—to reflect the organization's name change to Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 1990. In 1996, Roxanne Spillett, current president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, was appointed.
2006 marks the organization's centennial; four-thousand club staff members, administrators, board, and national staff will help celebrate this achievement.
Today Boys & Girls Clubs of America has over 4,000 autonomous local clubs — which pay dues to the national organization — throughout the country that serve large numbers of boys and girls, generally between the ages of 6 and 18. The organization has some 47,000 professional staff members, who serve more than 4.6 million boys and girls in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Many clubs are located in urban areas and serve children from low-income families.
Denzel Washington, a former member, has been the spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America since 1993. [1]
In its latest "Philanthropy 400" report, The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Boys & Girls Clubs of America number one among youth organizations for the eleventh consecutive year, and number 12 among all nonprofit organizations.
[edit] Membership
[edit] Notable members
Famous alumni (from the clubs' website):
- Wes Clark
- Bill Clinton
- Bill Cosby
- Neil Diamond
- Derek Jeter
- Michael Jordan
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee
- Shaquille O'Neal
- Brad Pitt
- Alex Rodriguez
- Martin Sheen
- Denzel Washington
- Edward Furlong
[edit] Demographics
- 66% are from non-white families
- 11% are less than 7 years old
- 26% are 7–9 years old
- 30% are 10–12 years old
- 21% are 13–15 years old
- 10% are 16–18 years old
- 2% are more than 18 years old
- 55% are male
- 45% are female
