Boys and Girls Club launches Great Futures Campaign
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- With many students getting ready to head back to school, the Boys and Girls Club of Wake County wants to make sure they have a safe place to go in the hours after classes let out for the day.
And now, the organization is getting some help from the Carolina Hurricanes and Duke Energy to launch a campaign aimed at giving more kids a shot at their programs.
Nationwide, the Boys and Girls Club is launching its "Great Futures Campaign." In Wake County, the local branches held a campaign kickoff Thursday at Pullen Park featuring food, fun activities for the kids, and testimonials from some of the students who say they've benefited from the organization.
That includes recent Wake Forest High School graduate Danielle Thomas who has been in the Boys and Girls Club for 10 years.
"It's taught me how to be a good leader, about responsibility and respect. It's taught me all my character traits, and I believe it's made me the person I am today," said Thomas.
This year she was also chosen as Wake Forest's Youth of the year, an honor she intends to pay forward.
"To give back is coming out like I did today and telling people what the Boys and Girls Club has done in my life and how it's impacted me," she added.
Victor Chambers is a 16-year-old Enloe High School student who's been in the organization for several years and now helps out as a junior counselor to the younger kids - passing on some of what the program has given to him.
"I've learned different school skills. I've learned people skills. I've learned social skills, just all the different skills the counselors teach me," said Chambers.
Those within the organization point out that not only do the clubs give students the tools they need to succeed, they also fill a void in their day-to-day lives that can prove dangerous.
"Usually, without the club, I'd be at home. Usually you do bad things when you have a lot of free time, that's with any teen, and I think it's helped me and a lot of the other kids," admitted Chambers.
Ralph Capps, the President and CEO of the Wake County chapter, echoed that, adding, "That's a critical need everywhere is for young people not to go home to an empty house but to get involved in a safe, structured after school program."
Everyday, one out of three kids nationwide has no place to go after school, putting them at risk to find themselves in unsafe situations. And during the summer months, three out of four kids don't have any access to summer learning programs which can put them at risk for falling behind in school later. But, the Boys and Girls Club says it addresses both of those needs, offering everything from STEM learning classes, sports and arts and crafts for kids.
Currently, there are more than 4,700 kids and teens in Wake County's Boys and Girls Club. But the organization is looking to increase their numbers this year to more than 6000 students. One statistic supporters tout to show the program's success rate is that in Wake County - of those students who were in the program for four years or more - there was a 100% graduation rate from High School.
Dor more information about the Great Futures Campaign, visit www.wakebgc.org or www.greatfutures.org.
