Picture of the building of the Boys & Girls Club of Parkersburg

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary

after-school program After-school activities, also known as after-school programs or after-school care, started in the early 1900s mainly just as supervision of students after the final school bell. Today, after-school programs do much more. There is a focus on helping ...

s for young people. The organization, which holds a

congressional charter A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress issued federal charters from 1791 until 1992 under Title 36 of the United States Code. The first char ...

under

Title 36 of the United States Code The United States Code is the official compilation of the Federal laws of a general and permanent nature that are currently in force. Title 36 cover, "Patriotic and National Observances, Ceremonies, and Organizations." Parts Subtitle I: Patrio ...

, has its headquarters in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, with regional offices in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. BGCA is tax-exempt and partially funded by the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

History

The first Boys' Club was founded in 1860 in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

, by three women, Elizabeth Hamersley and sisters Mary and Alice Goodwin. In 1906, 53 independent Boys' Clubs came together in Boston to form a national organization, the Federated Boys' Clubs. In 1931, the organization renamed itself Boys' Clubs of America, and in 1990, to Boys & Girls Clubs of America. As of 2010, there are over 4,000 autonomous local clubs, which are affiliates of the national organization. In total these clubs serve more than four million boys and girls. Clubs can be found in all 50 states as well as locations in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Cro ...

, and US military bases. In total, Boys & Girls Clubs of America employ about 50,000 staff members. '' The Chronicle of Philanthropy'' ranked Boys & Girls Clubs of America number one among youth organizations for the 13th consecutive year, and number 12 among all nonprofit organizations. The Boys & Girls Clubs of America is the official charity of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

, a former club member, has been the spokesperson for Boys & Girls Clubs of America since 1993.

Lists of founders

Boys Clubs of America, 1940

These people came together in 1940 to create the Boys Clubs of America: *

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

, 31st President of the United States * William E. Hall, US Medal of Honor recipient * Albert L. Cole, CEO of ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

'' *

James A. Farley James Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888 – June 9, 1976) was an American politician and Knight of Malta who simultaneously served as chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Postmast ...

, United States Postmaster General *

Albert C. Wedemeyer General Albert Coady Wedemeyer (July 9, 1896 – December 17, 1989) was a United States Army commander who served in Asia during World War II from October 1943 to the end of the war. Previously, he was an important member of the War Planning Bo ...

US Army Chief of Plans and Operations *

Matthew Woll Matthew Woll (January 25, 1880 – June 1, 1956) was president of the International Photo-Engravers Union of North America from 1906 to 1929, an American Federation of Labor (AFL) vice president from 1919 to 1955 and an AFL-CIO vice president ...

, vice president of the AFL-CIO * Jeremiah Milbank, two-time Republican Party Finance Committee chairman * Stanley Resor, Secretary of the Army *

James B. Carey James Barron Carey (August 12, 1911 – September 11, 1973) was a 20th-century American labor union leader; secretary-treasurer of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) (1938–55); vice-president of AFL–CIO (from 1955); served as pre ...

, president of AFL-CIO *

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...

, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation * Lewis L. Strauss, chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission *

Robert E. Wood Robert Elkington Wood (June 13, 1879 – November 6, 1969) was an American military officer and business executive. After retiring from the U.S. Army as a brigadier general, Wood had a successful career as a corporate executive, most notab ...

, quartermaster general of the army, vice-president of Sears * Fred C. Church Jr., insurance businessman * H. Bruce Palmer, president of the

Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company The Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company was a life insurance company that was chartered in 1845 and based in Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The company was headed by Frederick Frelinghuysen (1848–1924). The company ...

Edgar A. Guest Edgar Albert Guest (20 August 1881 – 5 August 1959) was a British-born American poet who became known as the People's Poet. His poems often had an inspirational and optimistic view of everyday life. Early life Guest was born in Birmingham ...

, TV and radio host * Nicholas H. Noyes, Indianapolis, Indiana; oil mogul * George A. Scott, president, Walker-Scott Company * E. E. Fogelson, Army colonel and cattle and oil baron * Ernest Ingold of San Francisco, California * Jesse Draper of Atlanta, Georgia * Julius J. Epstein * John Albert

Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 1990

In 1990, Boys Clubs of America was succeeded by Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which was founded by the following people: * Gerald W. Blakeley, Jr., Boston, Massachusetts * Roscoe Brown, Bronx, New York City, New York * Cees Bruynes,

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 202 ...

* Arnold I. Burns, New York, New York * John L. Burns,

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and othe ...

; President of the Boys' Clubs of America (1968–81), Chairman (1981–88) * Hays Clark,

Hobe Sound, Florida Hobe Sound is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States, located along Florida's Treasure Coast. The population was 13,163 at the 2020 census, up from 11,521 in 2010. Geography Hobe Sou ...

* Mrs. Albert L. Cole, Hobe Sound, Florida *

Mike Curb Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder of Curb Records where he presently serves as the chairman. Curb also ...

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who ...

* Robert W. Fowler,

Atlantic Beach, Florida Atlantic Beach is a city in Duval County, Florida, United States and part of the Jacksonville Beaches communities. When the majority of communities in Duval County consolidated with Jacksonville in 1968, Atlantic Beach, along with Jacksonville B ...

* Thomas G. Garth, New York, New York * Moore Gates, Jr.,

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of w ...

* Ronald J. Gidwitz, Chicago, Illinois * John S. Griswold,

* Claude H. Grizzard, Atlanta, Georgia * George V. Grune, Pleasantville, New York * Peter L. Haynes, New York, New York * James S. Kemper,

Northbrook, Illinois Northbrook is a suburb of Chicago, located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, United States, on the border of Lake County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,222. When incorporated in 1901, the village was known as Shermerv ...

Plato Malozemoff Plato Malozemoff (born Platon Alexandovich Malozyomov, russian: Платон Александрович Малозёмов; 1909–1997) was a Russian-American engineer, manager, and businessman. Early life and education Malozemoff was born in ...

, New York, New York * Edmund O. Martin,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

* Donald E. McNicol, New York, New York * Carolyn P. Milbank, Greenwich, Connecticut * Jeremiah Milbank Jr., New York, New York * C. W. Murchison III, Dallas, Texas * W. Clement Stone,

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Fore ...

Notable members

Some notable members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America: * Ashanti *

General Wesley Clark Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he obtained a degree ...

Donnie Copeland Donnie Ray Copeland (born March 16, 1961) is an American pastor and politician. He is the pastor of the Apostolic Pentecostal Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas. From 2015 through 2017, he served one term as a Republican member of the Arkans ...

Misty Copeland Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African Amer ...

Lee Corso Lee Richard Corso (born August 7, 1935) is an American sports broadcaster and football analyst for ESPN and a former coach. He has been a featured analyst on ESPN's '' College GameDay'' program since its inception in 1987. Corso served as the he ...

* John Paul DeJoria *

John Duren John Thomas Duren (born October 30, 1958) is an American retired professional basketball player. He was a 6'3" (191 cm) 195 lb (89 kg) point guard and played collegiately at Georgetown University from 1976 to 1980. Duren was sel ...

Anthony Ervin Anthony Lee Ervin (born May 26, 1981) is an American competition swimmer who has won four Olympic medals and two World Championship golds. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 50-meter freestyle, and earned a silver med ...

* Don Fisher *

Edward Furlong Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''; which was followed by a mini-seque ...

Cuba Gooding Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), he appear ...

Natalie Gulbis Natalie Anne Gulbis (born January 7, 1983) is an American professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. Golf career Gulbis was born and raised in the Sacramento, California, area. She has Latvian ancestry. Gulbis started finding in ...

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the Undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion at cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight in the late 1 ...

* Earvin "Magic" Johnson *

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

Dante Lauretta Dante S. Lauretta (born 1970) is a professor of planetary science and cosmochemistry at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. He is currently serving as the principal investigator on NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. Education He ...

* Paul "Triple H" Levesque *

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'', where she re ...

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on '' Saved by the Bell'', '' Saved by the Bell ...

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

Danny Neaverth Daniel J. "Danny" Neaverth, Sr. (born May 11, 1938) is an American disc jockey and television personality from Buffalo, New York. He is best known for a run of over 40 years as a morning disc jockey in Buffalo, including 25 years at heritage top-40 ...

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989), ''American Me'' (1992) (which he also dir ...

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program '' Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greate ...

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professional ...

* Joey Reynolds *

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

CC Sabathia Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. (born July 21, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the New York Yankees. He also played for the Cleveland Indians and Milw ...

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** F ...

Courtney B. Vance Courtney Bernard Vance (born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Known for his commanding presence Vance started his career on stage before transitioning his career into film and television. He's received various accolades including a Tony Awa ...

Denzel Curry Denzel Rae Don Curry (born February 16, 1995) is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Carol City, Florida, Curry started rapping while in the sixth grade and began working on his first mixtape in 2011. Influenced by underground Fl ...

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

Shaun White Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986) is an American former professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a five-time Olympian and a three-time Olympic gold medalist in half-pipe snowboarding. He holds the world record for the most X G ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...

* Michael Vick

Donations received

Following the success of the film ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...

'', in 2018

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

donated $1million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America for the development of STEM programs in the United States. The donation was to be allocated to help grow the group's national

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) curriculum. According to Mimi LeClair, president and CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, it is very important for young people to have a solid background in STEM to compete in the global economy.

References

External links

*
Official history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boys and Girls Clubs Of America Organizations established in 1906 AmeriCorps organizations Youth organizations based in the United States History of Hartford, Connecticut Organizations based in Atlanta Patriotic and national organizations chartered by the United States Congress 1906 establishments in Massachusetts