Boys & Girls Clubs Advocate On Capitol Hill For Sonoma Co. Youth

From BGC Sonoma County: Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Weiss, and Michelle Edwards, Vice President of Youth IMPACT, joined with hundreds of Boys & Girls Clubs from across the country for National Days of Advocacy in Washington, D.C. Club leaders met with members of Congress to advocate for the critical needs of kids and teens in America and to show the unique role Clubs serve in their communities.

“Clubs like ours have a unique role as community leaders in providing valuable afterschool programs to our country’s youth that enable them to achieve great futures,” said Weiss. “We were honored to represent Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County and raise visibility of the needs of our community youth, especially the ones who need us most, and show what we can accomplish with the support of our elected officials and our community.”

Boys & Girls Clubs offer a fun, safe place where kids can go afterschool to grow beyond the classroom. Club programs from education, the arts, and sports to leadership and service, help young people prepare for college or career. We also know that investment in afterschool opportunities creates impact in local communities, especially for working families that rely on Boys & Girls Clubs as a means to be employed full-time.

Boys & Girls Clubs drive measurable results for our nation’s youth:
• While 1 in 6 kids don’t graduate on time, 97 percent of teen Club members say they expect to graduate high school.
• During the summer, Boys & Girls Clubs help close the summer learning gap that significantly impacts low-income youth.
• Regularly attending Club members ages 12 to 17 from low-income families outperform their peers academically, with 74 percent reporting getting A’s and B’s in school, more than 10 percent higher than their peers nationally.
• Every $1 invested in a Boys & Girls Clubs returns $9.60 in current and future earnings and cost-savings to their communities.

Federal programs, like the U.S. Department of Education’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Youth Mentoring program, are a crucial component that makes Clubs and the youth they serve successful in Sonoma County. The 21st CCLC initiative helps improve academic achievement and keeps young people safe during afterschool hours when juvenile crime peaks. In 2016, 650 Boys & Girls Clubs in 47 states served more than 235,000 youth with 21st CCLC funding. Through the Department of Justice Youth Mentoring Fund, Clubs served 31,000 youth in all 50 states and at overseas military installations with a focus on at-risk youth, Native youth, delinquency and gang prevention, and military youth. Both these programs help young people succeed in school, work and life. Our Clubs receive $1.5 million dollars in these funds to support efforts locally.

“Our community depends on Federal resources to bring vital, life changing programming for our kids and teens,” said Weiss. “Our advocacy isn’t just a one-day event. We are motivated and committed to raising our voices on issues impacting youth in our community and the programs and solutions that set them on the path to great futures.”