Emma, Corbin, Daxton, Dakota and Claire are BGC kids, and they sure do love their club

Each year at the beginning of June, the Boys and Girls Club of Canada (BGC) celebrates its existence. “It’s an opportunity for us nationwide to celebrate what clubs do. Each club is going to be different from the next. Some places are in charge of food banks and homeless shelters, and other smaller clubs like us only run out-of-school care programming and summer camps. It’s an opportunity for us to unite from coast to coast to coast and celebrate what we do for our community,” explained Kyria Baranowski, Executive Director of BGC.

The club has a storied past. It formed in the early 1900s after a group of concerned citizens in Saint John, New Brunswick, created a “public playground movement,” making a safe place for children to play, particularly disadvantaged boys who had no place to go after school. It was first called the Everyday Club and later named The East End Boys Club of Saint John, the first boys club in Canada. In 1947, to reflect the growing number of young girls joining the programs, they changed the name to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. Most recently, the name was shortened to BGC Canada.

Over the last year or two, the Whitecourt chapter of the BGC has successfully applied for teen mental health grants. Along with support from some local businesses, they’ve been able to hold free monthly teen events. “They are for youth 12-17, and all our teen events are free because we’ve received enough donations and grant money. We recognize that cost is often a barrier for many of these youth.”

The after-school programming they offer can be subsidized, with some receiving full coverage and others falling in the middle. “The BGC logo is Opportunity Changes Everything, and what we offer these kids when they come through our doors is different opportunities, including those they may not have otherwise and might not get a chance to experience based on location or financial status.”

With a green logo, Baranowski said they had some fun green additions to the club day celebration. “We did green fruit, veggies, and a green smoothie. Something nice and healthy but also another way to recognize our logo and celebrate us as a club.” Children did art activities throughout the day, including one where they could use anything in the space to make the BGC logo. “They can recreate it with anything they can find in the club or go outside and make some chalk art.”

Ten-year-old Emma Teynor said her favourite part about being a BGC kid is hanging out with the leaders and sitting on the comfy couch. “She’s created talent shows and plays with her friends here at the club,” said Baranowski. “We were practicing for the talent show at school and did one here,” said Teynor.

Eleven-year-old Corbin Mason has been attending the BGC after-school program for several years. “I like iPad time, playing board games and playing with the toys here. I’ve made friends here, too,” said Mason. Another favourite for him was the snacks. “I love the popcorn balls. It’s where there’s a couple of marshmallows and popcorn. It’s sticky and hard to make because you have to make them into a round ball, but they are really sticky,” he laughed. “They are super good. I love those.”

Daxton and Dakota are two more BGC Canada kids who say they love being at the club. “I like playing and building roller coasters,” said Daxton, as he collected toys around him on the floor to build a roller coaster with the BGC theme. “I build lots of stuff here.”

For Dakota, it’s all about the crafts. “I like to do crafts and colour. My favourite is making paper snowflakes.” The youngster said she enjoys the variety of crafts at the club. “I love all the crafts here. When I miss one, I get upset, and then I have to do it when I come back. I also miss my friends when I’m not here.”

Claire, who decided to paint with chalk out on the sidewalk and created a beautiful BGC logo, said her favourite activity at the club is to paint with watercolour. “I like doing those. I like making hearts too and owls.” When asked about her favourite game, Claire immediately said Jenga. “It’s fun,” she said.

Baranowski said she was proud to see the children grow and was happy to see them having fun celebrating their club. She said they see an average of 20-25 children per day. Accounting for summer and youth/teen programs, she said they see about 110 children yearly. “We’ve got kids that have come through the door that didn’t know they were good at art, and we are now seeing blossoming artists. We’ve got kids doing their very first gymnastics class, and they are coming here and teaching gymnastics routines to kids that aren’t in their class. We get to see these kids start from really young, trying to figure out who they are and what they want to be, to when they exit our younger program, we see them blossom into kids with their own personalities and ideas and can think for themselves.”