Welcome from the Executive Director and Board of Governors
In 2008-2009 the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence (BGCP) entered into several new partnerships designed to improve program delivery, increase access to our services, and raise the profile of the organization. All in all it was a very successful year for us and our new partners.
The year began in July with a new partnership between BGCP and the Providence Housing Authority (PHA). For the first time we opened programs in facilities owned by the PHA in the Hartford Park and Chad Brown housing developments. Hartford Park was chartered as an official Clubhouse of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence, while Chad Brown has operated as a satellite site. Through these new locations we have been able to offer our Kids Café, homework help, and positive recreational activities to 383 children. This partnership offers us facilities maintained and staffed by PHA employees in collaboration with BGCP staff where we can focus on the children and their needs.
In the summer of 2008 we ran our third highly successful Summer Youth Employment Program, made possible through a grant from the Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston. In this year-long program 70 teens aged 14-17 were employed for the summer by BGCP. They worked in our Clubhouses with the children, staffed the reception desks, helped with summer camp, and worked at Camp Davis. In addition to the work experience they received, the teens were taught the 11 competencies established by the Department of Labor to help young people get – and keep – a job. The competencies include interviewing skills, effective time management, speaking in front of groups and how to dress for success.
In 2008-2009 Bank of America continued to be an important partner for BGCP. We were once again selected to employ and train the Bank of America Student Leaders from Rhode Island. The student leaders are outstanding members of their communities and excel in school. All five worked in Clubhouses in the city and were a tremendous help for our summer program delivery. Bank of America also supported Project Learn with a $25,000 donation to the program.
Local colleges and universities became invaluable partners by providing us with college work study students to work in the Clubs during the school year. Without the assistance of the work study students at Johnson & Wales University, Providence College, Rhode Island College, and Bryant University – and their assistance in paying the students – we would not have been able to deliver our programs as well as we were able.
In an effort to develop new funding sources and raise the profile of the organization, through the assistance of Jim Hagan, Amica Insurance, Cox Communications, NBC10, Ocean State Golf, Rhode Island Media Group, Comcast Media, golf manufacturers Callaway, NikeGolf, TaylorMade, and Titleist and a host of additional partners we were able to deliver the two day Southern New England Golf Expo at the Rhode Island Convention Center in February. Not only did we raise valuable funds for BGCP, we also heightened people’s awareness of us and our work.
In a continuing partnership with the Rhode Island Community Food Bank 45,000 hot dinners were served in Kids Café and 40,000 lunches and breakfasts were served. Without the partnership between the Food Bank and BGCP many children would have gone to bed hungry at the end of a long school day.
In the area of program delivery we successfully partnered with Save The Bay and the Ocean State Environmental Education Collaborative (OSEEC) to provide extended learning opportunities in the Clubhouses. OSEEC focused on talking with our members about the environment and how we all can help to save it.
Robert P. Brooks, President, Board of Governors
Nicole R. Dufresne, Executive Director