ANNUAL REPORT
JULY 1, 2021 - JUNE 30, 2022
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Nik Tatum
Board Chair
Jeff Breslin
President & CEO
WINTER SPORTS ACCESS PROGRAM, PEAK PERFORMERS, SENDS CLUB MEMBERS TO THE SLOPES
Of all the exciting things to happen this year, perhaps none were as ‘cool’ as the launch of our Peak Performers program in which fifteen members between the ages of 11 and 14 learned to ski and snowboard over the course of five visits to Liberty Mountain Resort. The experience was made possible through Vail Resorts’ Epic for Everyone Youth Access Program with funding through Vail Resorts and The Katz Amsterdam Foundation. Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore was one of 11 nonprofit partner organizations—and one of four Boys & Girls Club organizations—chosen to participate in the program’s inaugural year. Support came in the form of a cash grant—to offset staffing, soft goods, and transportation—and product donations including free lift tickets, ski and ride school, meals, and equipment rentals. Along the way, uneasiness quickly transformed into joy as participants found their footing. We’re beyond grateful to Vail Resorts and Katz Amsterdam Trust for giving members an opportunity to experience a new sport and deepen in their appreciation for the natural world, while forming priceless memories alongside their peers.
In its inaugural year, the Peak Performers program enabled 15 youth to experience snow sports.
NEW CLUBS OPEN IN SALISBURY AND POCOMOKE CITY
In spring 2022, BGCMB took a major step to expand access to Boys & Girls Club programming by opening two new Club locations on the lower Eastern Shore: in Salisbury’s Truitt Community Center and Pocomoke City’s Pocomoke High School. Initial enrollment for each Club was capped at 30 members with plans to grow membership at pace with our 1:15 staff to youth ratio in the years ahead. Pocomoke High School’s Principal Jenifer Rayne underscored the importance of the new Club saying, “Boys & Girls Clubs has been a game changer for the youth. Children in the middle and high school grades, especially, need engaging, positive, community-based activities. Boys & Girls Clubs not only provides these activities but also teaches critical life skills such as financial literacy and time management. The ability to host this valuable program within the walls of Pocomoke High School allows students to participate in offerings in a space conducive to learning and spending positive time with peers.”
Youth development professional Regine gets ready to welcome youth to the opening day of our Club at Truitt Community Center in Salisbury.
Renovations to Club kitchens included stainless steel fixtures, making them easier to clean and more conducive to our daily meal and snack programs.
BEFORE
AFTER
MARYLAND CAPITAL GRANT PROVIDES SAFETY AND SECURITY UPGRADES IN FOUR BALTIMORE CITY CLUBS
The safety of our members is always our top priority. To ensure our Clubs meet physical safety standards while functioning as inspiring environments of learning, BGCMB secured a $250,000 capital grant through the State of Maryland to fund safety and security updates at four Baltimore City Clubs: O’Donnell Heights, Westport Homes, Brooklyn O’Malley and Webster Kendrick. A team from Turner Construction, led by board member Scott Bulera, graciously donated their time and talent to serve as project managers—a service valued at over $62,000. Over a 12-week period, Turner brought a cadre of construction partners to the project to renovate the spaces where our members learn, grow and play.
The project leveraged the talents of over 10 local trade partners including Ferguson, Hercules Fence, Capital Demolition, JLN, Mahogany, Aegis, All State Floors, Webstaurant Store, ConCor Networks, Sloan, AquaFree, Denver-Elek and Precision Wall Tech, many of whom donated labor and materials to stretch our budget for the project by over 150%.
LEADING WITH RESILIENCE
Our communities faced significant challenges the last few years, with the impact on kids unquestionable. Faced with the realities of widespread learning loss, mental health crises, and food insecurity, it became more important than ever before to open our Blue Doors to more of the young people who need us.
Expanding our reach has posed challenges of its own – staffing shortages, supply chain delays, and responding adequately to pronounced youth needs—but our team stood firm in our commitment to three guiding principles.
We placed relationships first.
We doubled down on our most precious resource: our people. Our trained, paid youth development professionals showed up day in and day out to build deep, trusting, authentic and committed relationships with members and their families. Our team’s work was amplified by partners who bridged gaps, brought resources and created exciting possibilities for our members. These partners included mental health providers like TurnAround, Inc., literacy experts like Sylvan, and passion stokers like Vail Resorts and the Katz Amsterdam Foundation. Each interaction was a spark with the possibility of igniting a child’s potential and developing the skills necessary to become anything they dream.
We created Clubs as hubs.
Clubs are the center of everything we do. To give more youth an incubator for dreaming and growing, we opened two new Clubs on Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore, at the Truitt Street Community Center in Salisbury and at Pocomoke High School in Pocomoke City. We also broke ground on a flagship Club in Cambridge where the Boys & Girls Club at Mace’s Lane Community Center will reimagine the long vacant Mace’s Lane High School—segregated until 1969—into a beacon of hope for the more than 1,500 youth who live within a one-mile radius of the site. Our footprint in Baltimore grew too: a strategic partnership with The Baltimore Urban Leadership Foundation, known as The Door, brought out-of-school time programming to communities in East Baltimore. And to ensure our longstanding Clubs remained a source of positive energy, four of our Baltimore Clubs benefitted from safety and security upgrades thanks to a Maryland Capital Grant that provided new doors, windows, and kitchens.
We strived to do whatever it takes.
This year underscored that although we can’t do everything, we can do anything. In the wake of unprecedented challenges, all members of our community came together to make things happen. These include our generous board members, like Roger Ralph, who celebrated his 80th birthday with a campaign to raise over $90,000. And they certainly include our dedicated staff, of which our ranks grew by 134%. Though we’re sure to face new challenges in the years ahead, we stand ready to mobilize our network to ensure that when a young person joins a Club, they know there are people willing to support them in any way necessary.
Thank you for your unwavering belief in our Club members and your generous support in creating bright futures for the kids of Metro Baltimore.
Sincerely,
WHO WE ARE
For over 10 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore (BGCMB) has provided high-quality, community-based youth development services to youth, ages 6 to 18, in greater Baltimore.
Members of our Pocomoke High Club pose with the local sheriff following a game of dodgeball through the Badges for Baseball program.
The Webster Kendrick Club’s main entrance doors were among the 21 doors addressed through the grant, with new locks and windows for improved access control.
BEFORE
AFTER
ROGER RALPH CELEBRATES HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY WITH CAMPAIGN TO BENEFIT VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
Longtime supporter and devoted board member Roger Ralph used his 80th birthday as an opportunity to raise incredible support for BGCMB’s volunteer programs. On the heels of a significant personal commitment, Roger challenged his network to join him in a campaign to raise $80,000. “The one thing I’ve seen with the Boys & Girls Club–and being a member myself many, many years ago–is that you can throw a stone in a lake and it will create a ripple effect,” said Roger about his motivation for giving back. Dubbed 80 for 80, the campaign resulted in donations from friends across the country, ultimately far exceeding the goal and raising a total of over $97,000 to support volunteer programs including several AmeriCorps placements. Infinite thanks to Roger for sharing his platform to raise critical funds for Club kids.
Roger (left) pictured with Youth Development Professional Mantriel (center) on his visit to the Cal Ripken Summer Camp where a select group of Boys & Girls Club members were invited to participate.
OUR 2022 YOUTH OF THE YEAR: A'LEEYAH J., AGE 14
“My grades started slipping, and it was stressful trying to improve them. I went to the Boys & Girls Club to do my homework. Staff members helped and supported me through tutoring and Power Hour. The staff there helped me to understand the work that was being taught and they always encouraged me to do my best by saying ‘I believe in you.’”
COLLABORATION WITH THE DOOR BRINGS BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS PROGRAMMING TO EAST BALTIMORE
BGCMB began serving youth in East Baltimore through a strategic partnership with the Baltimore Urban Leadership Foundation, Inc. For over 35 years, the organization better known as The Door has served as an “umbrella of hope” to neighbors from its location on North Chester Street. “As times have changed over the years, more and more social, health, life, character, and learning skills are needed by our youth. Partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore allows us to bring their proven, evidence-based developmental programming to our youth. Which in turn will help our kids to excel academically, socially, emotionally, and physically,” said Tehma Smith Wilson, chief operating officer at The Door. What began as pop-up programming in summer 2021 grew to a full-fledged after-school program for youth ages 6-12 in the 2021-2022 school year followed by an all-day summer camp in 2022. “We’re thrilled to be expanding our working partnership with The Door in East Baltimore. Collaborations between nonprofit organizations such as ours are vital as we put the interest of young people first,” said Jeffrey Breslin, President & CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore.
Club members pose with their new bicycles outside the front entrance to The Door.
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS BOLSTER SUPPORT FOR CLUB MEMBERS
In recognition of our members’ pronounced needs in the wake of the pandemic, BGCMB expanded support for mental health and wellness through enhanced training for our youth-facing staff, additional staff in the form of social work interns, and strategic partnerships with specialized providers. Our Director of Social & Emotional Wellness provided youth-facing staff with comprehensive training—eight courses totaling 21 hours of instruction—in topics including trauma-informed care; child abuse and neglect; sex trafficking; emotional safety; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and youth mental health.
Our social work interns—students pursuing degrees in social work at area universities—delivered a mix of group programming using our proven SMART Moves curriculum to teach healthy self-concepts and coping mechanisms, and individual sessions with members experiencing high emotional dysregulation. Finally, we formalized partnerships with several providers to streamline the process of making referrals for members and their families who could benefit from enhanced support. One such provider, TurnAround, Inc., an organization that helps the survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual violence and human trafficking, arranged for counselors to make weekly visits to our Clubs where they could build rapport with members and offer on-site intervention. Another organization, Shura, Inc. provided professional development training for BGCMB staff on developmental disabilities and behavioral strategies.
Members of our O’Donnell Heights Club presented our social work interns with photo collages to celebrate the last day of their field work.
