Roanoke, Virginia, September 5th, 2017 – The Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia (BGCSWVA) are proud to announce the receipt of a grant from the Allstate Foundation totaling $10,000.00. The grant is received as part of our Youth Empowerment Program: TEENACTION. TEENACTION focuses on youth led programming, empowering youth to make decisions for themselves under staff guidance, while preparing for post-high school employment or secondary education.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia has a 20 year history of success in the Roanoke region, serving our youth and families in an affordable after school environment that is unparalleled. BGCSWVA provides youth with a safe place to learn and grow, ongoing relationships with caring adult professionals, life-enhancing programs, and character development experiences. BGCSWVA DOES NOT receive funding from the national organization; instead all funds are raised locally. However, beneficially, we are therefore able to customize our programming to our specific community needs. Boys and Girls Clubs of America lists in its 2025 Great Futures strategic plan the need to establish dynamic partnerships with public and private institutions for the purpose of growing teen membership with a focus on serving middle and high school youth. In the middle school years we begin to see pre-teens and teens discover and assert their independence, often through risky behaviors. TEENACTION combats risks by fostering positive relationships with pre-teens and teens, providing the structure under which we can teach character building, soft skills development, healthy lifestyles, and academic success.
TEENACTION is a comprehensive teen and pre-teen empowerment and development program for the BGCSWVA existing after-school program, consisting of the following components:
1.) Teen Retention Coordinator (new hire) – a skilled youth development worker that is the face of
outreach into schools and neighborhoods using athletics, music, and developing personal mentoring
relationships with each teen.
2.) Youth Employment Services (new prog.) – providing skills development, character building, job
readiness, transportation, and connecting our 14-18 year olds with paying, part-time jobs with our B&GC
Business Partners.
3.) Academic Advising (existing prog.) – ensuring students maintain exceptional grades for on-time
graduation.
4.) Athletic Programming/Training (new prog.) – connecting B&GC teens who play sports with
trainers/facilities, providing athletic development resources typically unavailable to the target demographic.
5.) Parent Nights (existing program, w/ modifications) – req. for teen enrollment, 4 parent seminars: (a)
money management (b) managing teen emotional readiness & development (c) resume writing/college
applications (d) computer literacy/online job search & college apps.
We are very grateful for the support received from the Allstate Foundation and look forward to continuing this wonderful partnership!
Please contact Libby Dembski at ldembski@bgcswva.org or (540) 904-7401 for information regarding Allstate’s contribution or any additional inquiries.