August 9, 2025 • 18 mins
For more than 35 years, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester have offered a secure place for young people to be during the summer months, when they're not in school. This time of year is considered a "high-risk" period for violence and gang activity involving kids and teens, and the "Safe Summer Streets" program provides an engaging environment through sports, art, music, special events, and much more. CEO Bob Scannell and SVP of Operations Mike Joyce join Nichole this week to talk about this program, which they came up with together, and how it's made an impact curbing youth violence in their neighborhood.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week right here, we come together and talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. It's great to have you back with us
this week. I'm Nicole Davis over the Boys and Girls
Clubs of Dorchester. It's been more than thirty five years
since Bob Scannal and Mike Joyce realized that local kids
(00:28):
wanted to stick around. Namely, they wanted to stay at
the clubs later on at night during the summertime. The
kids wanted a secure place to be to get away
from gang trouble and violence when they weren't in school.
So Bob and Mike put their heads together and came
up with the Safe Summer Streets program. All these years later,
it is making a big difference and a lot of
kids are staying on the right path. Bob and Mike
(00:49):
are both still at the clubs. Bob is CEO and
Mike is the senior vice president of operations. So let's
talk about this now, gentlemen, thank you for being here,
and Bob, before we get into the pro graham itself,
tell us a little bit more about what the clubs
do in the neighborhoods.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, Boys and Girls Comes at Dorchester has been in
the community for fifty one years now and currently we
operate three Boys and Girls clubs which are all in Dorchester,
and we have another with the club our fourth under
construction now and I can talk a little bit about
that later. So we've been in the community, serving children
(01:25):
of all ages and it's a pretty awesome place, you know.
We opened in nineteen seventy four with one clubhouse in
the Salmon Hill area at Dorchester, and then we continue
to expand and grow and add programs, and in two
thousand we built the Paul McLoughlin Center, which is right
on Dorchester av. And then in two thousand and three
(01:45):
we're asked to get involved and run a center that
existed already over in the Columbia Point Harbor Point neighborhood
of Dorchester.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
So very busy clubs, no doubt about it. You know.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Right now we have about four thousand and children who
belong to our clubs and come as members. The nice
thing is they only pay five dollars a year, which
is pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
It's affordable.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
It's affordable to everyone. Know, we would never exclude anyone.
You know, we have a major focus here on inclusion
in every sense of the words. So everyone's welcome to
join our boys and Girls clubs and they don't need
to be from Dorchester, but they can be from anywhere.
But most of our kids are from neighborhoods throughout the
Dorchester community.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
So we've been around for a long time.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
We've got an amazing staff who's been with us for many,
many years, and it's really allowed us to grow and
succeed and offer more programs. Currently, two hundred programs are
off it at our clubs, and that's everything from athletics
to education, to music and arts, team leadership. We have
extensive inclusion programs and early education programs, so there's a
(02:56):
lot of things happening. So we feel really good about
where we are right now. And the summers we're always busy,
but the summer is a great time of the year
because we expand our hours and serve more children and
teams throughout the entire summer.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Yeah, we'll talk about that in a moment, but Mike,
the impact that the pandemic had on kids, teenagers and
younger kids especially, I think that a lot of kids
were really impacted socially and emotionally and physically as well.
Tell me about how you were at the Boys and
Girls Club seeing this playing out now that we're five
years out, and how it's all been developing so far.
Speaker 4 (03:31):
Yeah, I would say, you know, there's definitely truth to that.
I think, you know, the club, even during the pandemic,
we really tried to stay connected to all of our members,
even though you know, it wasn't the typical club that
you would you would see, but I think, you know,
maintaining those relationships and trying to be creative about programming
allowed us to be in a position where we maintained
(03:51):
contact with our members they may not have been on site.
For those who were lucky enough to be on site,
that was great, but for those who weren't, you know,
we stayed connected. And I think when we came out
of the COVID situation, you know, welcoming those kids back
was certainly a big piece of what we were doing.
But at the same time, I think the club also
realized there were, you know, those underlying issues of mental health,
(04:14):
you know that folks were seeing, and I think the
club has really gone out of its way since the
pandemic to bring in, you know, the staffing that is
needed to support kids, you know, throughout the day, as
well as the programming we had going on prior.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
To well, Bob, then let's talk about the summer months,
because we're deep into it right now, and you talk
about in your programming that this is a high risk
time of year. Maybe if somebody is listening from outside
the city, maybe they're not sure what that means. Why
is this time of year a high risk for violence
and other problems when it comes to our teens and
(04:49):
our kids.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, things do tend to change a little bit in
the summer months. So the kids are and young people
are out of school, and so they were limited things
that they can do during their day and nighttime hours.
So what we do is we opened first thing in
the morning for children of all ages at all three
of our clubs, and we run a traditional programs summer
(05:11):
camp programs up until five o'clock for mainly the young
younger age group, and that involves, oh my goodness, they
participate in things on site. They're doing field trips every day,
they're going here, there, and everywhere, and it's a wonderful
summer for those kids, and then you know, it was
it really struck us in nineteen ninety, like the late
(05:33):
eighties and early nineties, there was definitely an upticket in
violence and some things going on in the neighborhoods and
particularly in Dorchester, and at the time we operated as
a traditional boys and girls club, traditional youth agency and
shut down, you know, between five and six o'clock. But
it got to a point where, you know, myself and
(05:54):
Mike Mike were there and saying, you know, I'll seeing
tomorrow to the kids. But the teens, you know, they
they asked, you know, gee, can we stay a little longer?
You know, we don't have anything to do.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
You know, what do they do?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
They can either sit at home or go out on
the streets. And the truth of the matter is who
the heck wants to sit at home and the streets
they just it's not always that safe. It's just the
truth of the matter.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Okay. So that's that's reality. And so the idea struck us.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
That you know, we need to do more for the
teenage members at the club. So when we started this program,
and we call the Safe Summer Streets in nineteen ninety,
we expanded our hours beyond five o'clock.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So that we stayed open from five to eleven.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Strictly for teenagers, and it took off, so we got
thirty six years later and going strong and continuing to expand. So,
you know, the teams come in and they we have
really amazing basketball leagues that are fun and competitive for
the boys and girls of the club. And we got
an amazing swimming pools, so there's a lot of swim program
(07:00):
and swim lesson swim team and our music studio, arts
and so forth, and fortunate that we have a lot
of friends out there who think about us and and
and get tickets to sporting events and so forth, and
they do great field trips and going to parks here
there and everywhere, and cookouts, so we make.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
It fun and safe. You know.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
The thing that we do that's really important and necessary
is is we drive drive all them home at the
end of the night. We have about three hundred team
teams enrolled in our Safe Summer Street program, and we're
fortunate we have the transportation to bring them home and
make sure they get home safely, because you know, not
(07:42):
you can't count on that walk home being being entirely safe.
So so that's something that we felt right from the
start was important we start with safety here and then
program around that. So so it's been wonderful. And you know,
Mike himself was the architect of this program, and like
you want to talk a little bit about maybe how
(08:03):
it began and where we are.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Yeah, yeah, so true. Those those back in those days
when we would we would stay a little later doing paperwork,
and the teens would would ask us to to stay
around at night, and and you know, it kind of
rang a bell to like, oh maybe they want to
be here. And you know, I think to your point, Nicole,
when you asked about summer and why it's so turbulent,
is I think you lose some of those structures that
(08:25):
are in place, like the school day and and some
of those pieces. And I think, you know, the club
being able to provide some of that structure is a
good thing. You know, in thirty six years later, we're
still you know, tweaking the program, trying to find the
right pieces. You know, it's it's absolutely a compliment to
our employment, you know, workforce program. So there's about one
hundred teams that are working within all of our clubhouses
(08:49):
thanks to you know, a great partnership with the city,
you know, and then if they worked during the day
and they do the camp, you know, they have the
opportunity to then come at night and hang out with
us at night. So really, if you're doing both of those,
you don't have time to get into trouble. And then
you're being around you know, positive adults and a good
peer network. I think that will you know, only help them.
(09:11):
And you know, like the Bob said, there's a number
of different programs, but you know there's also components like
the Power Forward program, which really works with teens on
thinking about careers and life after high school. You know,
in fact, they this year we've done big, large group
sessions on mental health, I think, which you alluded to earlier.
(09:31):
But last night they had a session that focused on
real estate and all the different careers and components of
real estate. There was a session with first responders about
their work in the community. You know, a very diverse
panel of folks there. And then you know, we'll end
the summer with a nice sunset cruise of Boston Haba
(09:51):
thanks to our partnership with UMass Boston, so you know,
the teens will will go on a cruise will feed them.
You know, it's just a chance to really and things
on a nice note and knock on wood, We've always
had good weather that day, so I hope that stays
the same. And then yeah, I was going to say
one other component that's really been a big hit, and
(10:12):
this kind of references the COVID piece too, is Friday
nights are dedicated to teen takeovers and what those are
opportunities for the boys and girls clubs in Boston to
get together and bring their teens together. I think we
found that was a big piece for the teens, is
getting out and meeting other teens from different clubs. They
(10:32):
really enjoyed that. So we hosted the first one, which
was the big event to kick off the summer, and
then we were at the west End House Boys and
Girls Club in Austin Brighton last Friday, and then we're
going to the Chelsea Club tonight for an event there
and there's probably two hundred you know plus teens that
are at these events, mingling, having fun, having some food,
(10:56):
you know, getting to know one another.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
You know.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
We remarked that there's such good events that you you know,
it's almost like all you have to do is be there.
The kids are great, you know, they get along well,
there's no issues. It's a very relaxed atmosphere, and they've
been a huge hit. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
The vast majority of kids, I think don't want to
get into unsafe situations and they don't want to contribute
to violence. And Mike, it's been thirty six years now,
how are you noticing that overall kids in your neck
of the woods, in Dorchester, in Roxbury, Mattapan, whatever, have
you noticed that your efforts are making an overall bigger
difference in that?
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Yeah, I would say absolutely.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
And one of the benefits that Bob and I have
after being here so many years is, you know, we
we run into alumni all the time and some of
them are now club parents whose kids come to the club,
and you know, having that history here at the club,
you know, you're talking to these same people who are
now sending their kids and they're really you know, telling
(11:56):
us that, you know, these programs are really important to them.
They really enjoy being here at night, They felt safer
at night, they were you know, they're round adults and
like you said, kids do not want to get into trouble.
There is there's no requirement that the teens come at night.
It's really freedom a choice when you get to that age,
and and they're making a choice to be here. Uh
so they're in a good place.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Yeah, for sure. And Bob, you know you've been right
there since the beginning as well. I'm sure you've noticed
the same thing. But then moving forward, how are you
keeping these teen takeovers modern and relevant so that kids
want to keep coming.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
That's a good question.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
And but reflecting back to the question you asked a minute,
kids don't want to get in trouble. You just need
to give young people an opportunity. Yeah, if you do that,
they will, they will, they will rise to the occasion.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
They will take advantage of it. They will be grateful.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
You know, our teens are just they're amazing, awesome, wonderful
young people. You know, they're they're they're grateful to be here.
They're you know, they're they're respectful all the time. They're smart,
they're funny. It's fun being around them. So sometimes you
hear oh kids and kids in door Chester, kids in
the city, and that boy, it drives us up the
wall because we see them every day and they're exceptional.
(13:08):
So so anyway, and so you know, opportunity is a
key word, and I think that's what we give the
children here.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
You've got this program running for a few more weeks,
What do you have a plan when it comes to
a start a school and moving forward into the fall.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
We're already kind of like actively working on that piece
right now. You know, we'll transition out. We're going to do,
you know, an end of end of summer overnight trip
to Hershey Park with one hundred kids. So and then
when we get back, we're really ramping up for fall
and getting folks back in. And you know, I think
one of the big goals is to continue to bring
(13:45):
back the teams who are coming now at night, to
engage them enough that they want to come back on
the fall and they want to stay engaged. And as
Bob said, you know, opportunities are really the big thing.
As long as you I think the club is really
good out finding opportunities for teens and putting in the
extra effort to ensure that our teens get those opportunities.
(14:06):
And I think, you know, as long as you diversify
and you are constantly remaking yourself to you know, fit
their needs, I think they will continue to come.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Do you find that a lot of kids who come
to your summer programming then come back in the fall
or do you find there's a little bit of a dip.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
No, they do. They definitely come back. You know, some
some want to stay as part of the employment program,
which you know, unfortunately we can't hire everyone we have
in the summer time back to the school year, but
we try to hire as many as we can. And
then it's really about keeping the connections alive in terms
of you know, whether it's our college fair or you know,
scholarship nights and anything that we can open up to
(14:44):
the teens that will you know, kind of expose them
to something new that might bring them back. And you know,
it could be music, it's sports, it's arts, it's you know,
field trips, whatever it may be. We just try to
keep it fresh and relevant.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Well, then, Bob, if somebody in the community want to help,
I mean, do you need volunteers, do you need money?
And we all, okay, we always need money. So how
can people contribute to what you're doing over there? You're
doing so much work, but I'm sure it takes a
lot of money and a lot of human power to
get it done.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Yeah, let's be clear. We always need money.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yeah, that's money.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
You know, we're blessed to have a lot of a
lot of funders who believe in the work that we're
doing and they share our vision and mission and that
and that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
But you know, the more money we raised.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
The more programs we can create and run and expand
and that, and.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
That's really important.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
You know what we're micing his teams are, you know,
running the summer programs and gearing up for the school
year programs. You know, I'm working with another set of
our teams here. And you know, we've got our fourth
facility under construction right now. Costs a lot of money.
You know, it's it's a it's a very large scale project.
It will be the biggest youth center in the city
(15:56):
and beyond. So we're very excited build that in a
Columbia Point Harbor Point community. And that's a seventy million
dollar campaign to make that a reality. So we're doing great.
We're you know, well on our way. You know, we've
got construction, as I mentioned, but we we still got
a way to go to reach our goal. And so
(16:17):
we're always looking for new funders and friends, and yes,
volunteers are absolutely critical to our success here. We have
you know, well over three hundred volunteers who help us
get the job done here and we couldn't do it
without them. So there's always opportunities if anyone's interested in
getting involved in some way, they could just reach out
(16:37):
to us, be a MIC or anyone here.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
When people volunteer, I think that they think, oh, I'm
not a good volunteer because I maybe have a full
time job, or maybe I'm a man and I feel like,
you know, volunteering is more of a woman thing, or
you know, I just I'm not old enough to volunteer.
But Mike, that's not the case. There's a room for
everybody to do this.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
Oh that's so true. And you know, volunteer core groups
come in many different forms. It could be a company
that comes to do a facility project while the kids
are in school. They could be from the colleges, you know,
as part of service learning from the colleges and even
the high schools. And then it could be just parents
in the neighborhood who you know, want to coach a team,
(17:17):
want to you know, help run the bank sale for
the swim team. It could could be any of those,
you know. I think there's always a role for someone
who wants to engage within the club.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Okay, so, Bob, how can people get in touch with
you all? Website, social media, that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Yeah, the best way is well, Yeah, a website is
a good a good entry into the into the Boys
and Girls Club because it has all the contact information
and gets a great description of the things we're doing here.
And that's www BGC Dorchester dot org. And and also
(17:51):
our social media channels are on the website, so people
could get connected that way as well. And I'd encourage
people to follow us because every day there's great things
going on here.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yeah, definitely, Dorchester is an awesome part of Boston. It's
a thriving neighborhood. There's so much going on with you
and your kids. Thank you so much, both of you,
Bob and Mike for being there for your kids and
helping our city get bigger and better.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Thank you. Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join
me again next week for another edition of the show.
I'm Nicole Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week right here, we come together and talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. It's great to have you back with us
this week. I'm Nicole Davis over the Boys and Girls
Clubs of Dorchester. It's been more than thirty five years
since Bob Scannal and Mike Joyce realized that local kids
(00:28):
wanted to stick around. Namely, they wanted to stay at
the clubs later on at night during the summertime. The
kids wanted a secure place to be to get away
from gang trouble and violence when they weren't in school.
So Bob and Mike put their heads together and came
up with the Safe Summer Streets program. All these years later,
it is making a big difference and a lot of
kids are staying on the right path. Bob and Mike
(00:49):
are both still at the clubs. Bob is CEO and
Mike is the senior vice president of operations. So let's
talk about this now, gentlemen, thank you for being here,
and Bob, before we get into the pro graham itself,
tell us a little bit more about what the clubs
do in the neighborhoods.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, Boys and Girls Comes at Dorchester has been in
the community for fifty one years now and currently we
operate three Boys and Girls clubs which are all in Dorchester,
and we have another with the club our fourth under
construction now and I can talk a little bit about
that later. So we've been in the community, serving children
(01:25):
of all ages and it's a pretty awesome place, you know.
We opened in nineteen seventy four with one clubhouse in
the Salmon Hill area at Dorchester, and then we continue
to expand and grow and add programs, and in two
thousand we built the Paul McLoughlin Center, which is right
on Dorchester av. And then in two thousand and three
(01:45):
we're asked to get involved and run a center that
existed already over in the Columbia Point Harbor Point neighborhood
of Dorchester.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
So very busy clubs, no doubt about it. You know.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Right now we have about four thousand and children who
belong to our clubs and come as members. The nice
thing is they only pay five dollars a year, which
is pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
It's affordable.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
It's affordable to everyone. Know, we would never exclude anyone.
You know, we have a major focus here on inclusion
in every sense of the words. So everyone's welcome to
join our boys and Girls clubs and they don't need
to be from Dorchester, but they can be from anywhere.
But most of our kids are from neighborhoods throughout the
Dorchester community.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
So we've been around for a long time.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
We've got an amazing staff who's been with us for many,
many years, and it's really allowed us to grow and
succeed and offer more programs. Currently, two hundred programs are
off it at our clubs, and that's everything from athletics
to education, to music and arts, team leadership. We have
extensive inclusion programs and early education programs, so there's a
(02:56):
lot of things happening. So we feel really good about
where we are right now. And the summers we're always busy,
but the summer is a great time of the year
because we expand our hours and serve more children and
teams throughout the entire summer.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Yeah, we'll talk about that in a moment, but Mike,
the impact that the pandemic had on kids, teenagers and
younger kids especially, I think that a lot of kids
were really impacted socially and emotionally and physically as well.
Tell me about how you were at the Boys and
Girls Club seeing this playing out now that we're five
years out, and how it's all been developing so far.
Speaker 4 (03:31):
Yeah, I would say, you know, there's definitely truth to that.
I think, you know, the club, even during the pandemic,
we really tried to stay connected to all of our members,
even though you know, it wasn't the typical club that
you would you would see, but I think, you know,
maintaining those relationships and trying to be creative about programming
allowed us to be in a position where we maintained
(03:51):
contact with our members they may not have been on site.
For those who were lucky enough to be on site,
that was great, but for those who weren't, you know,
we stayed connected. And I think when we came out
of the COVID situation, you know, welcoming those kids back
was certainly a big piece of what we were doing.
But at the same time, I think the club also
realized there were, you know, those underlying issues of mental health,
(04:14):
you know that folks were seeing, and I think the
club has really gone out of its way since the
pandemic to bring in, you know, the staffing that is
needed to support kids, you know, throughout the day, as
well as the programming we had going on prior.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
To well, Bob, then let's talk about the summer months,
because we're deep into it right now, and you talk
about in your programming that this is a high risk
time of year. Maybe if somebody is listening from outside
the city, maybe they're not sure what that means. Why
is this time of year a high risk for violence
and other problems when it comes to our teens and
(04:49):
our kids.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, things do tend to change a little bit in
the summer months. So the kids are and young people
are out of school, and so they were limited things
that they can do during their day and nighttime hours.
So what we do is we opened first thing in
the morning for children of all ages at all three
of our clubs, and we run a traditional programs summer
(05:11):
camp programs up until five o'clock for mainly the young
younger age group, and that involves, oh my goodness, they
participate in things on site. They're doing field trips every day,
they're going here, there, and everywhere, and it's a wonderful
summer for those kids, and then you know, it was
it really struck us in nineteen ninety, like the late
(05:33):
eighties and early nineties, there was definitely an upticket in
violence and some things going on in the neighborhoods and
particularly in Dorchester, and at the time we operated as
a traditional boys and girls club, traditional youth agency and
shut down, you know, between five and six o'clock. But
it got to a point where, you know, myself and
(05:54):
Mike Mike were there and saying, you know, I'll seeing
tomorrow to the kids. But the teens, you know, they
they asked, you know, gee, can we stay a little longer?
You know, we don't have anything to do.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
You know, what do they do?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
They can either sit at home or go out on
the streets. And the truth of the matter is who
the heck wants to sit at home and the streets
they just it's not always that safe. It's just the
truth of the matter.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Okay. So that's that's reality. And so the idea struck us.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
That you know, we need to do more for the
teenage members at the club. So when we started this program,
and we call the Safe Summer Streets in nineteen ninety,
we expanded our hours beyond five o'clock.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So that we stayed open from five to eleven.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Strictly for teenagers, and it took off, so we got
thirty six years later and going strong and continuing to expand. So,
you know, the teams come in and they we have
really amazing basketball leagues that are fun and competitive for
the boys and girls of the club. And we got
an amazing swimming pools, so there's a lot of swim program
(07:00):
and swim lesson swim team and our music studio, arts
and so forth, and fortunate that we have a lot
of friends out there who think about us and and
and get tickets to sporting events and so forth, and
they do great field trips and going to parks here
there and everywhere, and cookouts, so we make.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
It fun and safe. You know.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
The thing that we do that's really important and necessary
is is we drive drive all them home at the
end of the night. We have about three hundred team
teams enrolled in our Safe Summer Street program, and we're
fortunate we have the transportation to bring them home and
make sure they get home safely, because you know, not
(07:42):
you can't count on that walk home being being entirely safe.
So so that's something that we felt right from the
start was important we start with safety here and then
program around that. So so it's been wonderful. And you know,
Mike himself was the architect of this program, and like
you want to talk a little bit about maybe how
(08:03):
it began and where we are.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Yeah, yeah, so true. Those those back in those days
when we would we would stay a little later doing paperwork,
and the teens would would ask us to to stay
around at night, and and you know, it kind of
rang a bell to like, oh maybe they want to
be here. And you know, I think to your point, Nicole,
when you asked about summer and why it's so turbulent,
is I think you lose some of those structures that
(08:25):
are in place, like the school day and and some
of those pieces. And I think, you know, the club
being able to provide some of that structure is a
good thing. You know, in thirty six years later, we're
still you know, tweaking the program, trying to find the
right pieces. You know, it's it's absolutely a compliment to
our employment, you know, workforce program. So there's about one
hundred teams that are working within all of our clubhouses
(08:49):
thanks to you know, a great partnership with the city,
you know, and then if they worked during the day
and they do the camp, you know, they have the
opportunity to then come at night and hang out with
us at night. So really, if you're doing both of those,
you don't have time to get into trouble. And then
you're being around you know, positive adults and a good
peer network. I think that will you know, only help them.
(09:11):
And you know, like the Bob said, there's a number
of different programs, but you know there's also components like
the Power Forward program, which really works with teens on
thinking about careers and life after high school. You know,
in fact, they this year we've done big, large group
sessions on mental health, I think, which you alluded to earlier.
(09:31):
But last night they had a session that focused on
real estate and all the different careers and components of
real estate. There was a session with first responders about
their work in the community. You know, a very diverse
panel of folks there. And then you know, we'll end
the summer with a nice sunset cruise of Boston Haba
(09:51):
thanks to our partnership with UMass Boston, so you know,
the teens will will go on a cruise will feed them.
You know, it's just a chance to really and things
on a nice note and knock on wood, We've always
had good weather that day, so I hope that stays
the same. And then yeah, I was going to say
one other component that's really been a big hit, and
(10:12):
this kind of references the COVID piece too, is Friday
nights are dedicated to teen takeovers and what those are
opportunities for the boys and girls clubs in Boston to
get together and bring their teens together. I think we
found that was a big piece for the teens, is
getting out and meeting other teens from different clubs. They
(10:32):
really enjoyed that. So we hosted the first one, which
was the big event to kick off the summer, and
then we were at the west End House Boys and
Girls Club in Austin Brighton last Friday, and then we're
going to the Chelsea Club tonight for an event there
and there's probably two hundred you know plus teens that
are at these events, mingling, having fun, having some food,
(10:56):
you know, getting to know one another.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
You know.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
We remarked that there's such good events that you you know,
it's almost like all you have to do is be there.
The kids are great, you know, they get along well,
there's no issues. It's a very relaxed atmosphere, and they've
been a huge hit. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
The vast majority of kids, I think don't want to
get into unsafe situations and they don't want to contribute
to violence. And Mike, it's been thirty six years now,
how are you noticing that overall kids in your neck
of the woods, in Dorchester, in Roxbury, Mattapan, whatever, have
you noticed that your efforts are making an overall bigger
difference in that?
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Yeah, I would say absolutely.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
And one of the benefits that Bob and I have
after being here so many years is, you know, we
we run into alumni all the time and some of
them are now club parents whose kids come to the club,
and you know, having that history here at the club,
you know, you're talking to these same people who are
now sending their kids and they're really you know, telling
(11:56):
us that, you know, these programs are really important to them.
They really enjoy being here at night, They felt safer
at night, they were you know, they're round adults and
like you said, kids do not want to get into trouble.
There is there's no requirement that the teens come at night.
It's really freedom a choice when you get to that age,
and and they're making a choice to be here. Uh
so they're in a good place.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Yeah, for sure. And Bob, you know you've been right
there since the beginning as well. I'm sure you've noticed
the same thing. But then moving forward, how are you
keeping these teen takeovers modern and relevant so that kids
want to keep coming.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
That's a good question.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
And but reflecting back to the question you asked a minute,
kids don't want to get in trouble. You just need
to give young people an opportunity. Yeah, if you do that,
they will, they will, they will rise to the occasion.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
They will take advantage of it. They will be grateful.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
You know, our teens are just they're amazing, awesome, wonderful
young people. You know, they're they're they're grateful to be here.
They're you know, they're they're respectful all the time. They're smart,
they're funny. It's fun being around them. So sometimes you
hear oh kids and kids in door Chester, kids in
the city, and that boy, it drives us up the
wall because we see them every day and they're exceptional.
(13:08):
So so anyway, and so you know, opportunity is a
key word, and I think that's what we give the
children here.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
You've got this program running for a few more weeks,
What do you have a plan when it comes to
a start a school and moving forward into the fall.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
We're already kind of like actively working on that piece
right now. You know, we'll transition out. We're going to do,
you know, an end of end of summer overnight trip
to Hershey Park with one hundred kids. So and then
when we get back, we're really ramping up for fall
and getting folks back in. And you know, I think
one of the big goals is to continue to bring
(13:45):
back the teams who are coming now at night, to
engage them enough that they want to come back on
the fall and they want to stay engaged. And as
Bob said, you know, opportunities are really the big thing.
As long as you I think the club is really
good out finding opportunities for teens and putting in the
extra effort to ensure that our teens get those opportunities.
(14:06):
And I think, you know, as long as you diversify
and you are constantly remaking yourself to you know, fit
their needs, I think they will continue to come.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Do you find that a lot of kids who come
to your summer programming then come back in the fall
or do you find there's a little bit of a dip.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
No, they do. They definitely come back. You know, some
some want to stay as part of the employment program,
which you know, unfortunately we can't hire everyone we have
in the summer time back to the school year, but
we try to hire as many as we can. And
then it's really about keeping the connections alive in terms
of you know, whether it's our college fair or you know,
scholarship nights and anything that we can open up to
(14:44):
the teens that will you know, kind of expose them
to something new that might bring them back. And you know,
it could be music, it's sports, it's arts, it's you know,
field trips, whatever it may be. We just try to
keep it fresh and relevant.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Well, then, Bob, if somebody in the community want to help,
I mean, do you need volunteers, do you need money?
And we all, okay, we always need money. So how
can people contribute to what you're doing over there? You're
doing so much work, but I'm sure it takes a
lot of money and a lot of human power to
get it done.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Yeah, let's be clear. We always need money.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yeah, that's money.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
You know, we're blessed to have a lot of a
lot of funders who believe in the work that we're
doing and they share our vision and mission and that
and that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
But you know, the more money we raised.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
The more programs we can create and run and expand
and that, and.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
That's really important.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
You know what we're micing his teams are, you know,
running the summer programs and gearing up for the school
year programs. You know, I'm working with another set of
our teams here. And you know, we've got our fourth
facility under construction right now. Costs a lot of money.
You know, it's it's a it's a very large scale project.
It will be the biggest youth center in the city
(15:56):
and beyond. So we're very excited build that in a
Columbia Point Harbor Point community. And that's a seventy million
dollar campaign to make that a reality. So we're doing great.
We're you know, well on our way. You know, we've
got construction, as I mentioned, but we we still got
a way to go to reach our goal. And so
(16:17):
we're always looking for new funders and friends, and yes,
volunteers are absolutely critical to our success here. We have
you know, well over three hundred volunteers who help us
get the job done here and we couldn't do it
without them. So there's always opportunities if anyone's interested in
getting involved in some way, they could just reach out
(16:37):
to us, be a MIC or anyone here.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
When people volunteer, I think that they think, oh, I'm
not a good volunteer because I maybe have a full
time job, or maybe I'm a man and I feel like,
you know, volunteering is more of a woman thing, or
you know, I just I'm not old enough to volunteer.
But Mike, that's not the case. There's a room for
everybody to do this.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
Oh that's so true. And you know, volunteer core groups
come in many different forms. It could be a company
that comes to do a facility project while the kids
are in school. They could be from the colleges, you know,
as part of service learning from the colleges and even
the high schools. And then it could be just parents
in the neighborhood who you know, want to coach a team,
(17:17):
want to you know, help run the bank sale for
the swim team. It could could be any of those,
you know. I think there's always a role for someone
who wants to engage within the club.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Okay, so, Bob, how can people get in touch with
you all? Website, social media, that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Yeah, the best way is well, Yeah, a website is
a good a good entry into the into the Boys
and Girls Club because it has all the contact information
and gets a great description of the things we're doing here.
And that's www BGC Dorchester dot org. And and also
(17:51):
our social media channels are on the website, so people
could get connected that way as well. And I'd encourage
people to follow us because every day there's great things
going on here.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yeah, definitely, Dorchester is an awesome part of Boston. It's
a thriving neighborhood. There's so much going on with you
and your kids. Thank you so much, both of you,
Bob and Mike for being there for your kids and
helping our city get bigger and better.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Thank you. Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join
me again next week for another edition of the show.
I'm Nicole Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
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