For many Boys & Girls Club members, especially those from the most challenging economic and societal backgrounds, hope is a precious commodity. It is often difficult for them to envision a brighter future, much less take the necessary steps toward building a better life.
Every day across our nation, Clubs work to instill the intangible – yet extremely powerful – quality of hope in America's disadvantaged children. As a result, young people who might have followed a different path have instead become productive, responsible and caring citizens.
Since the very first Club opened in 1860, we have served millions of young Americans. Regardless of when or where they grew up, their stories have common themes:
- the obstacles large and small that Clubs help young people overcome;
- the unbreakable bond that develops between young people and the Club;
- the ability to realize achievements greater than young people themselves ever imagined;
- the obligation young people feel to contribute to the lives
of others; and
- the important life lessons young people learn from their Club experience.
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As kids experience the totality of a Club – a safe place,
ongoing relationships with caring adults and life-enhancing programs – it becomes a place of hope and opportunity. A place that enables them to break negative cycles and see the world in a whole new way.
Our approach to enhancing young lives is based on seven
time-tested principles we call Lessons of Hope, which guide our work and help us make decisions about how best to serve kids in a changing world.
In the words of one Club member, "It does not matter where you come from, it only matters where you are going."
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