Beyond the Club New initiative expands CareerLaunch's reach By LaTrese Coyt High school – a time to look ahead to the future. College, technical school or employment are some of the choices young people can consider. In 2000, Boys & Girls Clubs of America partnered with Gap Inc. to develop CareerLaunch®, a multi-media program that encourages Club members to assess their interests, explore careers, make sound educational decisions and prepare for the world of work. According to our latest reports, 73% of Clubs that serve teens offer career preparation programs, and more than 21,000 teens use the CareerLaunch Web site. "CareerLaunch is a great tool in my search for career options," says Morgan from the A.R. "Gus" Barksdale Boys & Girls Club in Georgia. "I'll be 15 soon and ready to start looking for summer jobs." Now, thanks to an exciting new partnership with NFL Charities, non-Club members will be introduced to the great resources available through CareerLaunch. In addition to offering valuable tools to more young people, this innovative approach will help attract teens to Clubs – thus increasing our service to this sometimes difficult to reach population. Attracting Teens In conjunction with NFL Charities, BGCA will provide impact grants to 25 pilot sites. These grants will enable Clubs to extend CareerLaunch program elements to middle and high schools, thus reaching an untapped market of teens. Club staff will partner with local schools to introduce students to CareerLaunch. If students are interested, they may receive a free, one-week Club membership. Upon seeing the range of activities available there, many youth may decide to join, thus increasing Club membership. "NFL Charities salutes BGCA for its commitment to youth and community improvement," says David Krichavsky, manager of NFL Community Affairs. "Being able to expand the reach of the CareerLaunch program – which gives youth fun, engaging and real-world information to prepare for their future – makes this partnership more than worthwhile." Through the partnership, NFL Charities will also sponsor a national essay-writing competition encouraging teens to explore various types of sports-related careers, including publicist, agent, journalist and sports medicine. Winners will receive educational or career-related scholarships totaling $20,000, and their essays will be featured on BGCA Web sites. New and Improved Hands-on elements that make the program particularly useful include the CareerLaunch Outreach to Teens CD-ROM, the Career Exploration Quick Reference Guide for staff and volunteers, and the Teen Tips guide. In addition, the program is supported by an updated, interactive Web site. New features include a Daily Headline News update on the latest trends and issues affecting the workplace and teens' lives, and the Teen Corner, a forum for Club members to share their summer job or other employment experiences with peers. The site also has better navigation; new fun, skill-building games, including Career Speed Word Scramble; and improved animation and graphics to give it a "hip" teen feel. Whether you seek to help youth prepare for their future or create a stronger community presence, CareerLaunch is an effective way to reach a larger population of teens. LaTrese Coyt is account director of strategic alliances at BGCA. back to top