Boys & Girls Clubs Of Southwest Washington

Youth violence prevention & intervention: in 2024, we served 238 elementary youth in our prevention program and 115 teens through our intervention program. This program provides targeted mentoring and case management to youth impacted by group violence. For prevention youth at our elementary sites, 78% maintained or increased social competence according to staff mentors. 71% of teens in our intervention program maintained or increased their engagement in pro-social activities, and 54% increased their academic performance. Overall, this program increases a young person's protective factors and provides them with the support and resources they need to achieve their goals. Through the chill foundation partnership, youth have gained confidence and resilience by learning to skateboard and snowboard, many for the first time. The structured program fosters goal-setting, perseverance, and self-discipline, teaching participants to embrace challenges and push beyond their comfort zones.

Mental health & well-being: our healthy lifestyles programs place a major emphasis on the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of the youth we serve. Each month, youth across our 8 clubsites participate in hundreds of hours of small group discussions on topics such as forming positive relationships, increasing confidence and self-esteem, and voicing and regulating their emotions. All full-time and part-time staff are trained in pax tools for human services, a research-based, trauma-informed framework that provides the knowledge and tools necessary to best support young people.

College and career prep: our college and career prep program served 68 teens through college and career exposure activities, skill building workshops, campus visits, and tutoring support. Participating seniors and program alumni received approximately $70,000 in private scholarships through their involvement in the program.