Youth Voice Meets 160 Years of Experience: How Boys & Girls Club Evolves Every Day

We’re grateful to Full Sail Media for including Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Baltimore in their Changemakers series—an initiative that shines a light on organizations committed to making a real, lasting impact.

---

Published by Full Sail Media on January 26, 2026

When kids at the new Ravens Club in West Baltimore asked for a dance program recently, the staff didn’t create a new curriculum from scratch. They went and found expert partners who already knew how to teach dance well, then brought that program into the club where kids show up every day anyway.

It’s a simple approach that reveals something deeper about how Boys & Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore operates, and why an organization that is part of a 160-year national movement continues to stay relevant to today’s youth.

At Full Sail Media, we’re honored to spotlight Boys & Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore as our January 2026 Changemaker community partner. This month, we spoke with Jeffrey Breslin, President & CEO, about an organization that serves 2,000 registered youth across 10 clubs throughout Baltimore City, Howard County, Dorchester County, and Wicomico County. Their mission is both timeless and constantly evolving: inspire and enable all young people to achieve their potential.

More Than Sports: The Full Picture

If you grew up in Maryland, you might think Boys & Girls Clubs are primarily about youth sports. That’s a common misconception, and one Breslin addresses regularly.

“It’s really a Maryland-specific thing,” Breslin explains. “The clubs in Prince George’s County historically have used the name Boys and Girls Club for their sports programs, but they’re different and they’re not chartered Boys & Girls Clubs under Boys & Girls Clubs of America.”

The chartered Boys & Girls Clubs that fall under the national organization—including Metropolitan Baltimore’s 10 Clubs—offer a much more comprehensive experience. Their team of approximately 70 paid, trained professional staff members implements programs across four core areas: health & wellbeing, academic success, character & leadership, life & workforce readiness.

“Our clubs are hubs,” Breslin says. “Our job is to expose kids to opportunity and experiences and really unleash the energy of young people. When they get excited about something, we can go deeper and support them as they grow.”

This intentional investment in trained professionals means kids don’t just have a safe place after school — they have access to opportunities often out of reach for families across the region. All programs are offered free of charge, removing barriers to participation.

The Hub Model: Bringing Expertise Where Kids Already Are

What makes Boys & Girls Club particularly effective is their approach to partnerships. Rather than trying to become experts in every possible youth interest, they leverage their consistent presence in kids’ lives to connect young people with specialized programs and professionals.

“If our kids ask for a lacrosse program, it’s not our job to create a lacrosse program,” Breslin explains. “It’s our job to use our clubs as hubs and bring programs and opportunities into the club because we know kids are going to be there every day.”

He likens it to a mall structure. The club provides the anchor stores (core programming in their four key areas), then brings in specialty partners as needs emerge. “If we stick to our core programs and then as kids ask for specialty programs or we see a need, our job is to bring in experts that provide those needs. Not only is it great for our kids, it’s more efficient too, because the last thing we need is two lacrosse programs across the street from each other.”

This model plays out in concrete ways across their clubs. Recent examples include taking teens from Brooklyn O’Malley Club to Ingredion’s innovation lab to explore food science careers, connecting teens with Mayor Randy Taylor of Salisbury through the Passport to Manhood program, and sending teens to the 2025 National Keystone Conference in Chicago for leadership development.

When kids need mental health support, the Club partners with licensed social workers and specialized organizations. For college and career readiness, they work with groups like College Track and College Bound. Arts programs like Lyricism 101, PhotoVoice, and DramaMatters give young people outlets for creative expression under professional guidance.

Programs That Build Complete Futures

Boys & Girls Club programming is designed to help young people thrive in every area of life.

• Education programs like STEM initiatives, MY.FUTURE digital learning, and Power Hour homework help address academic inequities and help youth fall in love with learning. The goal: every member graduates high school ready for post-secondary education and career.

• Arts programs foster creativity through theater, photography, and rhythmic literary arts, giving members safe outlets for self-expression.

• Leadership and service programs like Torch Club (ages 11-13), Keystone Club (ages 14-18), Youth for Unity, and Youth of the Year develop civic responsibility and 21st-century leadership skills.

• Health and wellness programs including Passport to Manhood, SMART Girls, and Triple Play develop physical fitness, teach nutrition, and help young people build healthy relationships and grow into self-sufficient adults.

• Sports and recreation teach life lessons through physical activity while promoting positive use of leisure time.

• Workforce readiness programs allow youth to explore interests, develop employability skills, and apply knowledge in real-world settings—like that visit to the food science innovation lab.

How They Measure Success

Boys & Girls Club uses multiple metrics to evaluate their impact, but Breslin starts with the most fundamental measure: “The ultimate measure of success is kids vote with their feet. If kids continue to come back, that means we’re doing something right both for them and for their families.”

Beyond that simple truth, all programs have built-in metrics tracking whether kids are on grade level for reading, continuing to participate in activities, and becoming college and career ready as teens.

The organization also conducts an annual National Youth Outcomes Initiative across all clubs. Breslin says, “That tells us how we are doing. Do kids feel like they belong? Are they accepted? Are they enjoying our programs?”

The results speak for themselves. A study from Boys & Girls Clubs of America found that Clubs provide nearly $8 in value for every dollar invested in Maryland.

Youth Voice: Not a New Concept, But an Original One

In an era where youth voice has become a buzzword in youth development circles, Boys & Girls Club can claim they’ve been doing it since before it was trendy—because they had no choice. Organizations that ignore what young people actually want don’t survive 160 years.

“The beauty of Boys & Girls Clubs is we’ve been around for 160 years because of youth voice,” Breslin points out. “We’ve evolved because kids have asked and demanded us to.”

The organization continues evolving daily based on what kids need and how they’re responding to society. Recent adaptations include helping kids understand artificial intelligence and navigate digital culture.

Kids get real-time input through quarterly program selection, where they choose what they want to participate in and share what programs they might be interested in trying. That dance program at the Ravens Club? Direct result of young people asking for opportunities in dance.

“We’re always evolving,” Breslin says. “We stick to what we do best, we stick to our core programs. But kids get the opportunity to choose their participation and be exposed to new things while doing what they love.”

Growing to Meet Community Need

Boys & Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore is in expansion mode. In fall of 2025 they opened the Ravens Boys & Girls Club in West Baltimore in partnership with the Baltimore Ravens, and are in the final stages of construction with their new club at Mace’s Lane Community Center in Cambridge, Maryland, set to open later this year.

Breslin describes Cambridge as a community where the organization saw a strong opportunity to invest in young people and work alongside local partners to expand access to programs and support.

Clubs operate Monday through Friday from after school until 6:00 p.m. for ages 6-12, with extended hours until 8:00 p.m. for teens ages 13-18. Summer programming ensures kids have safe, enriching places to be year-round.

The organization’s goal for 2026 is to grow average daily attendance and membership to more than 1,500 kids every day while continuing to be responsive to what young people are asking for, whether that’s new programs or different types of staff training.

“Ultimately the biggest goal is to show up every day,” Breslin says simply. “Because that’s what we do.”

How to Support the Mission

• Join the Great Futures Club: Monthly donors provide consistent support that allows the organization to plan and grow sustainably. Like other subscription models, regular giving helps the club maintain quality programming year-round.

• Donate: Community support keeps all programs free and accessible to the youth who need them most.

• Volunteer or Partner: Organizations with expertise in specific areas—from the arts to mental health to specialized sports—can partner with clubs to bring programming directly to kids.

• Attend the Annual Golf Tournament: Scheduled for the first week of May, this event brings together supporters for fundraising and community building.

At Full Sail Media, we’re inspired by organizations like Boys & Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore that understand innovation doesn’t mean abandoning what works. Boys & Girls Club demonstrates how listening to your audience—in their case, young people—creates programs that remain relevant across generations.

Their work reminds us that the best organizations don’t just serve their communities. They create spaces where community members can discover what they’re capable of becoming.