BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS CALL AMERICA TO ACTION CONCERNING CRISES AFFECTING YOUTH
HARRIS SURVEY, LEADING EXPERTS AND PROMINENT CLUB ALUMNI ADDRESS NEED TO COMBAT CRIME AND VIOLENCE, DROPOUT EPIDEMIC, YOUTH OBESITY
Agenda Includes Focus on Issues Affecting African-American Males

NEW YORK, October 19, 2007— America's young people need our help, concluded a panel of child development experts that came together in New York City today to examine issues impacting youth. Too many children and teens are not receiving the guidance they need to graduate from high school, to avoid the effects of violence, gangs and drugs, or to become responsible adults. 

The panel, brought together by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), issued a call to action asking Americans to become outraged over what is happening to children, to make a commitment to help reverse the negative trends affecting kids in communities throughout the nation, and to join BGCA in its mission of changing and saving young lives. The organization’s national spokesperson and alumnus Denzel Washington, along with actor and alumnus Cuba Gooding Jr. and WNBA star and alumna Swin Cash, joined the panel to discuss the positive and profound impact the Boys & Girls Clubs have had on their lives.

The panel also discussed the results of a new Harris survey of Club alumni that confirmed the positive impact Boys & Girls Clubs have on kids who pass through their doors. The group concluded by asking Americans everywhere to help build more safety nets for America's youth by supporting Boys & Girls Clubs and other community-based organizations that serve children.

Panelists included Harvard University's Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, one of the nation's preeminent child psychiatrists; Northeastern University's Dr. James Alan Fox, national youth violence expert, professor of criminal justice and author; Harris Interactive Chairman/CEO Humphrey Taylor; BGCA Chairman Rick Goings and President/CEO Roxanne Spillett; and Stacey Walker, 19, Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s 2006-07 National Youth of the Year, from Des Moines, Iowa.

According to the Harris survey, 57 percent of alumni believe the Club saved their life. Verbatim comments reveal that alumni found a safe haven at the Club, away from disruptive or dysfunctional family situations or other negative influences in their neighborhoods. 

"The Club was my whole world from the time I was 6 years old.  It's where I learned how to focus and set my mind on a goal; it's where I learned about consequences and how to be a man," recalls Denzel Washington. "I believe we all have the responsibility to give something back; to leave the world a better place for our having been here. For me, that means giving back to Boys & Girls Clubs of America, whose programs helped shape me and gave my life purpose and direction. I can't think of a nobler or more fulfilling mission than to guide our young children and set them down the right path."   

“As a nation, we need to provide more safe havens for children and teens in our communities," said Roxanne Spillett, president/CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "Today we call on all civic leaders, educators, parents and other caring adults to 'share the outrage' concerning the dropout epidemic, the increasing levels of violence, and other growing threats to the well-being of our young people. Boys & Girls Clubs will do their part, with the support of many caring and concerned people throughout the country, but we cannot turn the tide alone."

Four Major Areas of Concern

The panel focused its discussion on four major areas of concern from the Harris survey, impacting America's youth today: crime and violence, high school dropout rates, obesity and health, and crises affecting African-American males. Based on the survey results, a significant number of Boys & Girls Club alumni agree that they would not have graduated from high school, attended college, or stayed out of trouble if not for the Club.

§         Crime & Substance Abuse: Crime, drug and alcohol use are among the most serious problems affecting America's young people. Every 24 hours, more than 15,000 teens use drugs for the first time. Every two hours a youth is murdered. Every four minutes a youth is arrested for an alcohol-related crime and every seven minutes a youth is arrested for a drug crime (Crime Time by Safe Place). And in the next 24 hours, 3,506 teens will run away from home (Teen Help). Some 67 percent of Club alumni attribute their ability to avoid difficulty with the law to the influence of Club staff, and 67 percent also say the Club is where they learned how to “say no” to drugs and alcohol.

§         Dropout Rates:  In 2006 alone, 1.2 million teenagers did not graduate from high school in the United States – that's 30 percent of the class of 2006. The number increases to an astonishing 50 percent among some minorities. According to a survey by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 88 percent of those surveyed (ages 16 to 25 in 25 urban, rural and suburban communities nationwide) had passing grades when they dropped out of school, and 91 percent of those dropouts said they knew that graduating was vital to their future success. According to the Harris alumni survey, some 28 percent report they would have dropped out of high school if not for the Club, plus 51 percent achieved a higher level of education than they thought possible because of attending the Club.

§         Childhood Obesity: Obesity and lack of physical fitness is also a serious issue affecting today's youth. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 16 percent of adolescents in the United States are overweight. This figure has nearly tripled in the last 20 years. Some 25 percent of young people (ages 12-21) report that they do not participate in any vigorous physical activity and 14 percent report that they don't even participate in any light to moderate physical activity. This lack of physical fitness and abundance of obesity means that 16 percent of our teens are at risk for heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Type 2 diabetes has also increased dramatically in teens as a direct result of adolescent obesity. Of the alumni surveyed, 80 percent said that their Club experience made a positive impact on their attitude toward fitness and health, with 74 percent participating in organized sports.

§         Crises Among African-American Males:  According to a 2006 New York Times article by Erik Eckholm, the problems affecting many African-American males have become an epidemic. Eckholm states that about one-third of black males are awaiting trial, in jail or prison, or on probation or parole. In their lifetime, nearly one-third of black males will spend some time in jail or prison. Black males are more likely to drop out of high school, be placed in special education classes, and be suspended or expelled, but less likely to be placed in gifted and talented classes. More than 50 percent of black males in inner-city schools do not graduate from high school. However, according to the survey, some 73 percent of African-American male alumni said the “Club saved my life.” Most impressive – 34 percent of African-American BGC male alumni earned a four-year college degree, compared to the national rate of 16 percent (2006 Current Population Survey).

"There's an eclipse of traditional community in today's generation: higher rates of divorce, the decline of churchgoing and the fact that more people live in urban areas, where they may not even know their neighbors. Kids need a community where they are safe, where people know and care about them, someplace they can go after school and do their homework instead of getting into trouble on the streets,” concluded Dr. James Alan Fox. "Boys & Girls Clubs of America is an organization that is able to provide that much-needed community for millions of kids."

Impact 2012: Building for the Future

Boys & Girls Clubs of America used the panel discussion as the official kick-off for Impact 2012, the national organization’s five-year strategic plan. For the period between 2008 and 2012, BGCA has identified several strategic priorities, the most important being the deepening of impact on young lives through:

• Increased overall daily attendance, and increased frequency of attendance for each Club member; 

• Emphasis on outcome measurement of success indicators, including academic achievement, juvenile crime reduction, and level of civic engagement;

• Outreach to more young people and families most in need;

• Special emphasis on serving the needs of teens;

• Strengthening of local Clubs through enhanced training and development of professional youth development staff;

• Establishment of new Clubs in communities where the needs are greatest, reaching a total of 5,000 service locations by 2012.

Methodology

The survey was conducted online and by telephone within the United States by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) between November 15, 2006, and March 16, 2007, among 1,014 Boys & Girls Club alumni (18 and older).  Figures for age, sex, race, education, household income, and region were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population of Boys & Girls Club alumni.  Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.  Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading.  All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100 percent response rates.  These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org) comprises a national network of more than 4,000 neighborhood-based facilities, with 4.8 million youth served through Club membership and community outreach, in all 50 states and on U.S. military bases worldwide. Known as “The Positive Place for Kids,” Clubs provide guidance-oriented character development programs on a daily basis for children 6-18 years old, conducted by a full-time professional staff. Key Boys & Girls Club programs emphasize leadership development, education and career exploration, financial literacy, health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation, and family outreach. An estimated 30 million American youth have been served by Boys & Girls Clubs since the founding of BGCA in 1906. National headquarters are located in Atlanta.

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