Boys & Girls Club of El Dorado County Western Slope

Character and Leadership Development

Empowering youth to support and influence their Club and community,
sustain meaningful relationships with others, develop a positive
self-image, participate in the democratic process and respect their
own and others cultural identities

Specific Character and Leadership Development Programs:

Youth of the Year

Our premier youth recognition program for Club members. All members
can benefit from participation in this program, which promotes and
celebrates service to Club, community and family; academic
performance; moral character; life goals; and poise and public
speaking ability.

Torch Club

Small-group leadership and service club for boys and girls ages
11-13. The Staples National Torch Club Awards are presented annually
to Torch Clubs with outstanding program and activities in the four
areas. Staples Foundation for Learning, Inc. and Staples, Inc.
sponsor the Torch Club program.

Goals for Growth

Goals for Growth teaches Club members ages 8-12 skills for setting
and achieving goals, helps them identify their own strengths and
enhances their self-esteem by reinforcing their progress and
recognizing their success in realizing their goals. Members set
goals in six areas: Club involvement; discovery of new knowledge,
skills or pastimes; service to others; school improvement; personal
improvement; and career awareness.

Education and Career Development

Enabling youth to become proficient in basic educational
disciplines, apply learning to everyday situations and embrace
technology to achieve success in a career.

Specific Education and Career Development Programs:

Project Learn

Project Learn reinforces and enhances the skills and knowledge young
people learn at school during the hours they spend at the Club.
Students do much better in school when they spend their non-school
hours engaged in fun, but academically beneficial, activities.
Through Project Learn, Club staff use all the areas and programs in
the Club to create opportunities for these high-yield learning
activities, which include leisure reading, writing activities,
discussions with knowledgeable adults, helping others, homework help
and tutoring and games like Scrabble that develop young peoples
cognitive skills. Project Learn also emphasizes parent involvement
and collaboration between Club and school professionals as critical
factors in creating the best after-school learning environment for
Club members ages 6-18. Extensively field-tested and formally
evaluated by Columbia University with funding from Carnegie
Corporation of New York, Project Learn has been proven to boost the
academic performance of Club members.

Goals for Graduation

Goals for Graduation, a Project Learn resource, introduces academic
goal setting to Club members ages 6-15 by linking their future
aspirations with concrete actions today. In goal-setting  sessions
with Club youth development professionals, members set achievable
"Know-I-Can" Goals, more challenging
"Think-I-Can" Goals, and yearly "Believe-I-Can"
goals. Members create an action plan with daily and weekly goals
leading to short- and long-term gains. A comprehensive guidance
strategy helps members connect their smallest results to their
highest dreams. An encouraging recognition strategy buoys members as
their successes are recognized and supported at every step of their
journey.

Power Hour: Making Minutes Count

Power Hour helps Club members ages 6-12 be more successful in school
by providing homework help and tutoring and encouraging members to
become self-directed learners.

CareerLaunch

CareerLaunch encourages Club members ages 13-18 to assess their
skills and interests, explore careers, make sound educational
decisions and prepare to join our nations ever-changing work force.

JOB READY!

JOB READY! prepares Club members ages 16-18 with specific skills to
secure employment and be successful in the world of work. Teens
learn how to identify job opportunities, write effective sums,
perform well in interviews, dress appropriately, develop good work
habits and get along well with others in the workplace. JOB READY!

Junior Staff Career Development

Junior Staff Career Development is a comprehensive, small-group
program that assists Club members ages 11-18 in exploring a career
in youth or human services, particularly Boys & Girls Club work.

Skill Tech I and II

Skill Tech is a basic computer skills program that develops Club
members� proficiency with word processing, spreadsheet and
other productivity software through fun, hands-on, engaging lessons
and projects for four age groups. Skill Tech II is designed to teach
advanced, yet practical technology skills to Club members aged 6 to
18. Using animated, interactive tutorials on courseware developed
exclusively for Boys & Girls Clubs, as well as hands-on,
instructor-led group activities, Skill Tech II introduces members to
hardware and networking skills and technology-related career
opportunities.

Money Matters: Make It Count

Money Matters promotes financial responsibility and independence
among Club members ages 13-18 by building their basic money
management skills. Participants learn how to manage a checking
account, budget, save and invest. They also learn about starting
small businesses and paying for college.

Health and Life Skills

Developing young people's capacity to engage in positive behaviors
that nurture their own well-being, set personal goals and live
successfully as self-sufficient adults.

Specific Health and Life Skills Programs:

SMART (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training) Moves

This nationally acclaimed comprehensive prevention program helps
young people resist alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, as well as
premature sexual activity. SMART Moves features engaging, interactive,
small-group activities that increase participants peer support,
enhance their life skills, build their resiliency and strengthen
their leadership skills. This year-round program encourages
collaborations among Club staff, youth, parents and representatives
from other community organizations. The program's components are:
SMART Kids, for ages 6-9; Start SMART, for ages 10-12; Stay SMART,
for ages 13-15; and SMART Parents.

SMART Girls

SMART Girls is a small-group health, fitness, prevention/education
and self-esteem enhancement program designed to meet the
developmental needs of girls ages 8-12 and 13-17. Through dynamic
sessions, highly participatory activities, field trips and mentoring
opportunities with adult women, Club girls explore their own and
societal attitudes and values as the build skills for eating right,
staying physically fit, getting good health care and developing
positive relationships with peers and adults

Street SMART

Street SMART counteracts the negative lures of gangs, violence and
street influences on young adolescents ages 11-13. While building
awareness and resistance skills, participants develop the confidence
and knowledge to make intelligent choices. Street SMARTs four
modules teach young people how gangs work and how to resist being
recruited, how to recognize and resolve conflicts peacefully, how to
become positive peer helpers and how to recognize and respect the
similarities and differences of others. Participants reinforce what
they have learned and share it with others by organizing community
events that promote the program's positive messages.

Passport to Manhood

Passport to Manhood promotes and teaches responsibility in Club boys
ages 11-14. Passport to Manhood consists of 14 sessions, each of
which concentrates on a specific aspect of manhood through highly
interactive activities. Each Club participant receives his own
passport to underscore the notion that he is on a personal journey
of maturation and growth. Passport to Manhood represents a targeted
effort to engage young boys in discussions activities that reinforce
positive behavior.

The Arts

Enable youth to develop their creativity and cultural awareness
through knowledge and appreciation of the visual arts, crafts,
performing arts and creative writing.

Specific
Arts Programs:

National Fine Arts Exhibit Program

This year-round program encourages artistic expression among Club
members ages 6-18 through drawing, painting, printmaking, collage,
mixed media and sculpture displayed at local and regional exhibits.

ImageMakers National Photography Contest

This year-round program encourages Club members ages 6-18 to learn
and practice black-and-white, color, digital and alternative process
photography. ImageMakers has three components: a photography
programming resource guide full of fun, creative activity ideas for
three skill levels; small grants for Clubs to start or strengthen
photography programs; and an annual photography contest that
provides local, regional and national recognition.

Digital Arts Suite and Festivals

Club Tech's suite of self-directed digital arts courseware consists
of Web Tech (Web page design), Design Tech (graphic design), Photo
Tech (photo illustration) and Music Tech. Movie Tech contains
detailed instructor materials for teaching members to write
screenplays and facilitating the hands-on process of filming and
editing digital movies. Once Club members have participated in these
programs, they can submit their digital artwork to the annual
Digital Arts Festivals competitions

Sports, Fitness and Recreation

Developing fitness, positive use of leisure time, skills for
stress management, appreciation for the environment and social
skills.

Specific Sports, Fitness and Recreation Programs:

Triple
Play

Introducing Triple Play: A Game Plan for Mind, Body and Soul. This
program takes a holistic approach to educating boys and girls about
good nutrition, making physical fitness a daily practice and
developing individual strengths and good character. Through this
program we are:

• Empowering youth to eat right is a generation-changing,
  life-enhancing program goal, and Triple Play's nutrition
  component, called Healthy Habits, covers the power of choice,
  calories, vitamins and minerals, the food pyramid and
  appropriate portion size

• Boosting traditional physical activities to a higher level by
  providing sports and fitness activities for all youth; boys and
  girls, athletically gifted and those talented in other areas,
  children and teens alike. Daily Fitness Challenges: six
  challenges give youth at every age the chance to play longer and
  harder at different games, from jumping rope to basketball and
  creating games of their own.
  • Basketball Challenge
  • Jump Rope Challenge
  • Get Fit Challenge
  • Walk/Run Challenge
  • Home Run Challenge
  • Invent-a-Sport Challenge