& counting 2018 ANNUAL REPORT The mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston is to help young people, especially those who need us most, build strong character and realize their full potential as responsible citizens and leaders. We do this by providing: a safe haven filled with hope and opportunity, ongoing relationships with caring adults, and life-enhancing programs. BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON 2018 ANNUAL REPORT 1 ear Friends, This was a year of great celebration for Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, as 2018 marked our 125th anniversary of helping young people, especially those who need us most, build strong character and realize their full potential as responsible citizens and leaders. Since we first opened our doors in Charlestown in 1893, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston has depended on generous individual, corporate, foundation, and government donors to ensure our continued success. With your help, we have remained a pioneer in youth development, offering life-enhancing programs that create a brighter future for our children and teens. As times have changed over the decades, BGCB’s Clubs have remained a beacon of hope and opportunity for the young people we serve, providing safe spaces in which our members can learn and grow despite the challenges they may face at home or in their neighborhoods. From cobbling and woodworking to music production and wheelchair basketball, BGCB’s programs have evolved over more than a century. What has remained consistent is the dedication of our expert staff members, from aquatics directors to social workers, who serve as role models and create positive, lasting relationships with our members. Young people who have a mentor are much more likely to be leaders in the Club and community, volunteer, and go on to college. Today, 89% of our members say there is at least one staff person at their Club who they would turn to in a crisis. Fostering this sense of safety and belonging has been at the root of our service for 125 years, and your support has allowed us to maintain the programs and relationships necessary to do so. On behalf of the 14,000 children and teens we serve, thank you. With gratitude, Josh Kraft Nicholas President and CEO+ +The senior professional position at Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston was named in 2006 in recognition of Pete and Ginny Nicholas to honor their deep commitment to the organization and to further their dedication to ensuring excellence in organizational leadership. 2 ear Friends, Throughout Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston’s 125th anniversary year—and my first year as Chair of its Board of Directors—I have been proud to witness the impact our Clubs and YouthConnect continue to have on the youth of Boston and Chelsea. As an alumnus of Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue, Washington, I know firsthand the important role our Clubs play in the lives of the young people we serve. As a member of BGCB’s Board of Trustees and Board of Directors for more than 15 years, I also know the vital role that you play in our many successes. The support of our board members, donors, and community partners is integral to our work. With your help, BGCB raised $20 million in operating funds in 2018, and served 14,000 young people during the school year and 2,000 at our summer camps. For 125 years, BGCB has remained dedicated to providing the young people we serve with an outcomes-driven experience that helps them succeed academically, live healthy lifestyles, and practice good citizenship. As the years pass, our programming constantly evolves to meet the needs and interests of our members. In 2018, each of our 11 Clubs offered fun STEAM activities to inspire early interest in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Offerings included homegrown programs as well as opportunities delivered through partners like Northeastern Robotics, Girls Who Code, and Music & Youth. We are guided by our mission to help all those who attend our Clubs to be responsible, caring, and contributing members of their communities. The pathway to success relies on our ability to provide our youth with the skills they need to be accomplished adults in the 21st century. In 2018, we made great progress in strategic planning to this end, and while there is much work still to be done, I am happy to report that BGCB is on a great path. Thank you again for all you do to ensure our continued success. With gratitude, Bruce N. Jacobs Chair of the Board of Directors BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON 2018 ANNUAL REPORT 3 & counting Roxbury Boys Club Opens In order to provide a safe, productive First Summer Camp space for boys, Roxbury Boys Club BGCB opens Camp Wing in opens. In 2006, the Club reopens Duxbury. Today, it offers following renovation and expansion, full-day camps for seven as the Yawkey Club of Roxbury. weeks at each of its sites. 1893 1910 1925 1936 1938 Bunker Hill Boys Boys Clubs of Boston South Boston Boys Club Opens Club Opens Bunker Hill Boys Club and Roxbury South Boston Boys Club is Frank S. Mason founds the Boys Club merge as Boys Clubs founded, enlisting 500 new Bunker Hill Boys Club. Doors of Boston, bringing together two members in its first year. open in Charlestown on strong institutions to create a March 11, 1893 with an initial more effective organization for membership of 38 boys. the community. 4 Organization renamed Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston Girls, many of whom have been Chelsea Club Opens attending the Clubs since 1973, are BGCB opens a site in the Innes officially admitted to all Clubs as Housing Development. In 2002, full members. The organization is it moves to its new home and formally renamed “Boys & Girls Clubs is renamed the Gerald and of Boston,” the first in the country to Darlene Jordan Club/Kraft include girls in the name. Family Youth Center. 1974 1981 1992 1993 1995 Busing Crisis-A Safe Haven Midnight Basketball Blue Hill Club Opens Then and now, Clubs serve as a During a period of some of the A new center is beacon for kids looking for a safe worst gang violence in the city’s constructed in place where they are accepted and history, the Clubs use basketball Dorchester; during protected without regard to the to calm tensions. the inaugural summer color of their skin. season, more than 200 boys and girls learn to swim. In 2016, the Club is renamed the Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Club in honor of the long-standing and ongoing commitment of individuals at Berkshire Partners. BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON 2018 ANNUAL REPORT 5 Dearborn Joins BGCB BGCB assumes Sumner and Condon management of the Club Clubs Open at Dearborn Middle School Two new Shared Space Clubs in Roxbury, making it an join the BGCB family thanks to additional "Shared Space" Charles Sumner Elementary Club organized by BGCB. and Condon Elementary. 1996 2005 2007 2009 YouthConnect First Music Franklin Hill is Established Clubhouse Club Opens Originally known as Youth The Blue Hill Club is renovated. In addition to offering a breadth Service Providers Network New features of the Club include of programming, such as (YSPN), this partnership with the organization’s first Music homework help and music the Boston Police Department Clubhouse, which can today be lessons, the new Shared Space features licensed clinical found in six BGCB locations. Club’s proximity to the Blue Hill social workers who provide Club grants access to facilities immediate intervention such as the pool. initiatives for vulnerable youth. 6 125 Years of Service Hennigan Club Opens BGCB celebrates the BGCB implements after-school 125th anniversary of opening its programming at the James doors and creating opportunities W. Hennigan Elementary School for the children and teens of in Jamaica Plain. Boston and Chelsea. 2011 2013 2014 2018 Orchard Gardens Mattapan Teen Club Opens Center Opens Dearborn Club staff and The first standalone teen center membership relocate to a new welcomes 260 teens in its first year, facility at the Orchard Gardens with programs ranging from theater Community Center. and fitness in its Foundation Room to production and recording in Mattapan Records. BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON 2018 ANNUAL REPORT 7 Current and past Directors, Senior Advisory Board members, Trustees, and Trustees Emeriti gather together for the annual Lovejoy–Cleary Lunch at the Union Club of Boston. This reunion lunch is named in honor of two former Board Chairs, Joe Lovejoy Sr. and Bob Cleary Sr. Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston has Decades later, his son Frederic In recent years, Dick and Fred have been fortunate to benefit from Church Jr. served as Chair from been instrumental to the formation many “legacies of leadership” over 1984 until 1988. Since then, the of the Planned Giving Advisory our 125-year history. One family Church family has continued to Group, under the leadership of in particular, the Churches, has make an impact through their BGCB Director Jon Davis. BGCB’s remained dedicated to our mission service on the Board. Fred Church planned giving society—aptly named for nearly a century. Frederic C. Jr. currently serves as a member the Frederic C. Church Sr. Legacy Church Sr. was BGCB’s longest- of BGCB’s Senior Advisory Board, Society—is proud to count all five serving Board Chair, leading the and his brother Dick serves as a of Fred Church Sr.’s children as organization from 1935 to 1955. member of the Trustees Emeriti members. and regularly attends the Lovejoy- Cleary Lunch. 8 onsistent Board Leadership Equals Exceptional Results In 2018, BGCB served 14,000 kids and teens – a far cry from the 38 boys who were in the inaugural class of the Charlestown Club in 1893.