Boys & Girls Club of St. Joseph County
BGCSJC’s Teen Center – The ClubBoys & Girls Club of St. Joseph County
BGCSJC’s Teen Center – The Club
In an increasingly complicated world, the Boys & Girls Clubs have long understood that unsupervised youth who aren’t active in school sports or after-school clubs are at higher risk of making poor decisions. Unfortunately, outside of school-related activities, South Bend teens have historically had very few affordable after-school options to keep them productively engaged.
The Boys & Girls Club of St. Joseph County (BGCSJC) has moved to address this problem locally through construction of “The Club,” a teen center co-located in the former Temple Beth-El building in downtown South Bend with partner Career Academy Network of Public School’s Future Lab and new high school, the Portage School of Leaders. The Club was imagined to be a center where teens could go for both social activities and support, a safe environment where they could explore their interests, with easy access to workforce development opportunities and jobs in the community. A place where young people could be inspired to realize their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. It promised to be the first of its kind in our community.
The BGCSJC submitted a grant request for funding to be used for the renovation of the existing building. The Foundation, a long-time supporter of investments in education and at-risk youth, agreed to fund a grant.
