Premier Members Making a Difference: Boys and Girls Club of Greater San Diego

What do you benefit most from being a member of NCPC?

Through our membership with NCPC we are able to connect with other nonprofits and thought leaders in our local community. We also look forward each year to honoring our Volunteer of the Year.

What is your Mission?

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego‘s mission is to inspire and enable youth to achieve academic success, build good character and responsible citizenship, and make healthy lifestyle choices.

What do you offer to the community?

The BGCGSD offers after-school and school break programs for over 8,000 youth ages 5-18 throughout San Diego County. Participants engage in age-appropriate activities supporting academic excellence, character development, and healthy lifestyle choices. BGCGSD’s aim is to support youth by helping them grow into caring, productive, civic-minded, and successful citizens in their communities. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego service area covers over 2,000 square miles from National City to Borrego Springs; providing enriching programs at 19 community-based sites.

What was your organization/company’s biggest accomplishment in the past six months – one year?

Our biggest accomplishment in the last year has been the final reopening of the few Clubs which were still closed due to COVID. The Board of Directors and Senior Management originally planned to have all Clubs reopened by December 2022, however, due to increasing demand, the return of students to in-person learning, and with the support of individuals, corporations and foundations in the community, all Clubs were reopened as of September 2021, a full 15 months early! We have also been able to restart our bus transportation system, ensuring that members who are not within walking distance are able to attend the Club.

What event/program or campaign do you have coming up that you would like to share with our readers?

Our signature event, An Evening of Changing Lives, will take place on September 10, 2022 at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. The funds raised at the event support our mission to inspire and enable youth to achieve academic success, build good character and responsible citizenship, and make healthy lifestyle choices.

What changes/opportunities have occurred due to COVID-19?

Our budget was greatly impacted both in revenue and expense. On the expense side, costs rose significantly due to the extended hours we were open from June 2020 to August 2021, the necessity of providing Personal Protective Equipment to staff and members, an increase in cleaning costs, the upgrades to Wi-Fi in all buildings and provision of personal supplies to each member to utilize. When the 2021-22 school year started, we were able to return to our normal afterschool hours of operations, and will continue to do so as long as the schools stay open for in-person learning. The impact on our revenue lies with the reduction in the number of children attending, which leads to a reduction in fees collected. Our Board and Staff responded to decreased revenue by revising our 5-year strategic plan. We took on a PPP loan, reached out to new potential funders and created a short term campaign to raise $1,000,000 to ensure that we were able to open all 19 locations by the start of the 2021-22 school year. Additionally, our program logistics continue to looks different in order to provide the safest possible experience while at the Club. Our groups are kept to the same 20 members with the same staff everyday. Children and staff must wear masks while indoors and activities must have enough supplies that no child has to share with another child. We follow strict guidelines for quarantining groups with suspected and confirmed exposure to COVID.

On the positive side of things, these changes to our groups, or cohorts, has increased the quality of interactions between staff and members. Staff are able to get to know the members better than ever before, which allows them to provide a more customized program to each member and gives the opportunity for a closer partnership with the parents.

Have you made a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization/company and if so, how are you demonstrating it?

Yes. Our Diversity Statement is:

It’s in our nature to include.

At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego, we create safe environments for staff and members to express themselves and feel included. We believe that all people should have a future of hope and opportunity. To make that happen, we strive to cultivate Clubs which recognize differences and embrace diversity. We reflect the communities we serve by welcoming people of all races, sexual orientations, ethnicities, identities, religions and abilities.

In addition to the Diversity Statement, we are in the process of creating a DEI committee of staff at all levels, Board of Directors, and parents to ensure that we as an organization are providing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for all parties.