Gov. Malloy Cuts Funding to Stamford and Other CT Boys and Girls Clubs

By WENDY ANN MITCHELL (Patch Staff)

Seventeen Connecticut Boys & Girls Clubs are petitioning Gov. Malloy to restore the state’s government funding to their programs on a petition they’ve created on Change.org. The petition reads in part:

“Governor Malloy, your new budget hurts the children who need us most by cutting state funding for important after-school and summer learning opportunities, including all funding for the Boys & Girls Clubs in Connecticut and other programs serving at-risk children.

We are asking that you reinstate this funding, allowing these programs to continue progress toward overcoming the achievement gap in Connecticut.”

Boys & Girls Clubs of America was founded in 1860 by three women in Hartford: Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin and Elizabeth Hammersley. The women felt the need to give boys a positive alternative to “roaming the streets,” according to its website.

Since its inception, the club has expanded to include girls‘ programs, character building, leadership, health and life skills, the arts, sports and fitness and more. The Boys and Girls Club of America was ranked #18 among all non-profit organizations in 2012 by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Ridgefield Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Mike Flynn wrote in a letter to parents, “The governor has currently cut all Boys & Girls Club funding. We need all the support possible. It only takes a minute.”

Click the link below to sign the petition to urge Connecticut’s governor to restore funding to the 17 Boys & Girls Club centers in Connecticut.

Dannel Malloy: Governor Malloy: Please Support the Children Who Need Us Most