The Boys and Girls Club of Wisconsin welcomed local students to its 200th location in Wisconsin May 1 in Portage, Wisconsin.
This milestone highlights the growing interest in the Club in Wisconsin, director of the Wisconsin Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs Andrew Gussert said. He expects there to be 215 to 220 total locations in Wisconsin within the next year.
According to the Boys and Girls Club, clubs in 75 Wisconsin cities serve more than 100,000 youth between the after-school hours of 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Wisconsin ranks the highest in the nation with youth served at Boys and Girls Clubs per capita, Gussert said. The club will act as a place for students to go after school, allowing parents to work after formal public education ends for the day.
The Club aims to help students graduate from high school on time, develop good character and live a healthy lifestyle. The West Central Wisconsin Boys and Girls Clubs provide homework support and tutoring to local children, according to their website. They also provide recreational activities and instruction on good eating habits. The Portage location will be working with local libraries to provide free lunches throughout the entire summer as well, Mayor of Portage Mitchel Craig said.
According to the Boys and Girls Club, every dollar put into a Club generates nearly 10 times its value for the community it serves.
The 200th location in Portage is located in the gymnasium of the now-closed Rusch Elementary School. The school’s closure, access to public transportation and play equipment made it the ideal location to open the Club, Craig said.
“Any kid at the school system, at the elementary school or at the kindergarten and the first and second-grade school, they’re allowed to get on this bus and ride it…to the Boys and Girls Club every single day after school,” Craig said.
The Club is currently comprised of 70 volunteers from the community, and will serve an estimated 800 local children, CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of West Central Wisconsin Karen DeSanto said. There are most likely going to be 75-80 kids attending on opening day.
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Gussert said the Clubs plan to expand mental health care in the future by educating every Club staff member in Trauma Informed Care.
“Kids are really strong,” Gusset said. “They are really resilient. They bounce back, they become stronger after they’ve went through something and healed. And your strongest humans out there are the ones who have overcome challenges.”
Gussert also said Clubs will be dealing with learning loss from the pandemic all while equipping kids with abilities to enter the workforce. The Clubs want to help children develop social skills as well.
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The Boys and Girls Club of Wisconsin expects to serve 144,000 youth by the end of 2024 as locations are chartered across the state at a rapid rate. A group of local leaders in Portage headed the initiative to create the Club over the course of two years, raising funds through public, private and philanthropic donations.
In Wisconsin, Boys and Girls Clubs boast thousands of staff and volunteers and $155 million in private infrastructure.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County offer numerous volunteer opportunities for the University of Wisconsin students, including tutoring services, participating in running or organizing events and assisting with administrative duties. The Boys and Girls Clubs also offer part-time jobs, which are great for students going into psychology, childhood education, or social services, DeSanto said.
Students can sign up to volunteer for two events on July 15 — Move n’ Groove BCG, which has a fundraising goal of $700,000, and The White Party, celebrating the opening of the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center.
