Boys & Girls Club of Chester

Nurturing The Development of Our Young People 

Our mission is to nurture the development of our young people and guide them along the path to future success by providing an environment that supports excellence in education, good character and citizenship, and a healthy lifestyle.

WHAT WE DO.

We make an impact.

Through a variety of after school programs and events, we provide a foundation for great futures. Our members are provided with mentorship and support, helping them develop into the leaders they were always meant to become.

Our strategy.

Our work is shaped by best-practices from national out-of-school time models and interviews and input from Chester OST stakeholders. The Chester Older Youth Plan highlights four focal areas as the basis for improving conditions for youth in Chester: Health & Wellness, Post-Secondary Options, Quality Out-of-School Time, and Workforce Preparat

ion.By employing these strategies, we hope to prepare the youth of Chester for successful post-secondary care

ers.OUR GO

A

• LS.To provide a home away from hom
e

• . To provide vocational counseling and career guidance
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•  To provide and create an adequate learning environment.
 

• To help combat youth idleness and help curtail juvenile delinquency. 
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• o help develop athletic skills and create good attitudes. T
o

• help combat teenage drug and alcohol use.  OU
R

PROGRAMS.POWE

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  HOUR: Power Hour is the academic enrichment program the Boys & Girls Club of Chester (BGCC) uses to help young people develop academic, behavioral and social skills through homework completion, high-yield learning activities and tutoring. Power Hour is a 30-45 minute period of time that encourages Club members at every age to become self-directed learners.G
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  DENING & NUTRITION: Through our gardening and nutrition program youth are exposed to materials and instructors from the Penn State University Master Gardeners. The Master Gardener volunteers assist youth in cultivating, maintaining, and harvesting the produce that is grown. The food grown in the garden is used for healthy cooking classes and is given away to the families. The Master Gardeners conduct weekly healthy cooking classes to teach the youth how to prepare nutritious meals using vegetables and various herbs from the garden

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  DRUG FREE COMMUNITIES: The BGCC–DFC Coalition’s is an innovative and comprehensive multi- organizational approach to preventing substance abuse among youth living within the Chester Upland School District. Our DFC Coalition is comprised of representatives from 12 Sectors (Law Enforcement, Business, Education, Faith-Base, Youth, Parents, Healthcare, Government, Youth Serving Organizations, Media, Civic Engagement, and Substance Abuse) throughout our community. Members of the Coalition work to develop and implement approaches to prevent drug use and its devastating effects on our youth. We invite community members that want to get involved to join our movement.
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  MMER CAMP: The BGCC Summer Camp is designed to provide a hands-on, minds-on, project-based programming for youth in 1st through 8th grade. Our six-week summer enrichment camp engages members in a host of STEAM enrichment activities that focus on math, reading, art and science. All of the academic enrichment is integrated with fun activities such as gardening, cooking, science experiments; basketball math hoops games; and robotics, digital literacy and computer games to engage students in technology. PO

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  ITIVE ACTION: Positive Action is an evidence based program designed to address individual risk/protective factors with youth in grades K-12. The program uses 6 core consecutive units: Self-concept, Positive action for your body and mind, Managing yourself responsibly, Treating others the way you like to be treated, Telling yourself the truth, and Improving Yourself Continuously. Positive Action is used widely throughout the Boys & Girls Club of America network of programs
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  RTS & CRAFTS: The arts & craft program provides children with a hands-on experience to express their creativity and promote critical thinking. This program gives children the opportunity to create art projects along with designing more intricate projects such as such as making robotics out of cardboard and making their hand print out of clay. Many of the art projects require children to reflect on themselves, the community, and their envir

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  nment.21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER (CCLC) - The Boys & Girls Club of Chester (BGCC) Student Achieve afterschool program was created through a partnership among the Pennsylvania Department of Education 21st Century Learning Communities, Chester Upland School District (CUSD), and the BGCC. Children participating in the BGCC 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) receive homework help to support their academic development and are engaged in afterschool programming focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM). Our program is designed to help students meet state and local student st…