Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara 2014 End of Year Report Club Demographics as of 12/1/2014 Total Number Served by Program: Over 1,500 including non-members. We tracked 1,089 members that attended the Club a total of 36,025 times. (not including team sports). Age Range: 6-18. Average Age: 12. Gender: 60% male, 40% female The Arts Almost 400 members participated in art programming this year. As a community based organization, the Club’s art program was involved in many of Santa Barbara’s arts and cultural events throughout the year. For the second year in a row, the Club displayed member artwork at the Taste of Milpas. Throughout the year, members toured art exhibitions at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara City Colleges Atkinson’s gallery, the Santa Barbara Museum of Contemporary Art and several local art galleries. Performing arts activities included classes in ballet, hip-hop and California Folklorico. Many of our girls performed in the Fiesta on the main stage. In the Art room, kids acquired math and tactile skills in addition to expressing themselves through art. For example, during a sewing class where they made a pillow, they learned how to use a pattern, cut and measure fabric, and pin the fabric together in preparation for the sewing machine. To finish off the project, they threaded a needle and hand sewed the seams closed. Character & Leadership Development Rotary InterAct and Keystone all worked on supporting the Santa Barbara community through beach and street clean-up days, fundraisers for other non-profits, and the Sports Drive. In the Torch Club, five members worked to become aware of others feelings and express their own without worrying about bullying. The Club’s community outreach efforts included collecting used sports equipment to distribute to children who otherwise would not be able to participate in sports such as football, basketball, soccer, and more. The Keystone Club is currently going through a transition. Half of the Club graduated from high school in the spring. All 5 of those Keystone members graduated high school and enrolled in college. This Fall, we have 15 Keystone/InterAct club members. Next January, at our Awards banquet, 6 of our Keystone Club
members will receive Presidents Volunteer Service awards from the White House for their efforts in community service to our community. When Miranda first started coming to the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara she was very shy and very guarded. For months she and I would have private conversations where I would realize that if she could get past her fear of talking to people that she really had a lot to say. I would tell her constantly that I thought she could really be a good leader for her peers and that she had as much potential for greatness of any kid I had ever seen. I finally talked her into joining Keystone/Interact. It took her a while to get comfortable with other kids in the club but over time she began to share stories of struggles with her father and her step father being in prison and seeing her mother in an abusive relationship. I think Miranda was shocked when other kids shared similar experiences. She began to open up more and more, she gained confidence and really came out of her shell. Since joining this Club, Miranda has been Youth of the Month 3 times in 1 year and has become a very vocal leader in the teen center and throughout the Boys & Girls Club. She is an awesome peer leader who loves making others around her feel good about themselves. Tyler Forshey, Teen Director The Big Buddy program paired older and more experienced members with younger members at the Club. At the same time the Big Buddies look out for the younger members while at the Club. This mentorship builds trust and provides personal development and guidance. Our Teen Late Night average attendance is 30. Since we hired a Teen Rec Aid dedicated to building our girls’ programming, this fall, the Teen Late Night attendance is now evenly split between boys and girls. I was so happy when I turned 13 because that meant I could finally come to Teen Night. I used to come with my dad to pick up my sister and I would see the older guys playing (basketball) and I would wish I could be out there too. My favorite time at teen night was when I made a shot to win the game for my team and all the high school basketball guys (who Bobby clearly admires) rushed me and dog pilled on me. It made me feel like I was finally part of the crew. Bobby, age 13 Education and Career Development Power Hour is the Club’s premiere after-school homework help and tutoring program. From 3:304:30pm every day, Club members complete their homework. For those students who are struggling with a subject, they are paired with volunteer and paid tutors who have an academic background in Education, Mathematics, and English. As a result, in the 2013-2014 school year, all Club members who attended regularly graduated to the next grade level in school, and all graduating seniors were accepted into higher learning institutions.
The Library provides more than homework help and books. It is a hub of activity for the elementary school members. During the summer, all campers participated in a Lego Cities project, where they learned about a Buenos Aires, Argentina’s and Paris, France’s architecture, culture, and geography. Our Library Director, Joanne Bardini’s most gratifying accomplishment in the Library this year came from the Creative Expressions Club. Most adults never publish a book in their lifetime, but in the Library, 10 members wrote, illustrated and published a book this past summer. During the process, they learned about how to work together as a team, compromise when necessary, build a theme, story line, and a compelling ending of a book. The library is very cool. I usually get tutored or just hang out in the library. I enjoy going to the library more than any other room in the Boys & Girls Club. Emily, age 10 During the summer, almost 250 campers participated in the Science Lab, participating in hands-on experiments in earth science, life science, engineering, and physics. The curriculum expanded significantly in complexity and scope this year. The goal was to teach science through experimentation and hands-on learning. It focused on working from a hypothesis to a conclusion. The members were able to apply their analytical skills and discuss their findings with the group. Over 45 members benefitted from one-on-one Math Tutoring this year. Through this intensive tutoring program, members were able to better understand the material presented in their classrooms. This instilled confidence which was reflective in their grades. The majority of students who participated in math tutoring received a significant grade improvement. The Library has helped me out so much with my homework and all the people in there. For example, Jessica, the math tutor, helps me every day with homework and I do not know what I would do without her. I know for a fact if she was not here, I would not have an A in math right now. Julia, 7th Grade This year, 240 members participated in our Computer Program, learning the basics of HTML coding, music composition, Adobe Photoshop editing software, and filmmaking. We are especially proud of the members who learned Adobe Photoshop. At the end of the class, all participants were able to understand the different tools within the app and were able to create a project. In Career Launch, 9 teens learned how to find jobs, create a resume, interview, and secure employment. They also learned about office etiquette. Upon graduation of this program, two of
the teens were brought on as junior staff, and two teens secured employment at the Franklin Elementary School after school program. We also heard back from six of our 2013 graduates who all secured employment while attending Santa Barbara City College. Currently, 5 of our teen members work at Smart & Final. Even though it was a year ago that I was in Career Launch I think it really helped me to get my job at Smart and Final. T-Fo (Tyler Forshey) helped me update and tweak my resume, and I wasn’t even nervous when I had to do my interview. I just remembered to stay calm and think about the questions I was asked and think of my answer before I started talking. I have now moved up from stocker to cashier. Isaias Tapia, age 18 The Career Speaker Series had an average attendance of 25 teens. This year the speakers represented non-profits, sports, television broadcasting, hospitality industry, public service and political careers. As a member of the photography and video club, I really liked it when Meredith (Garfalo from KEYT, Channel 3) came in to speak. She told us what it is like to be on the set of a real news broadcast. I think it would be really cool to be on TV someday and I think I would really enjoy being on a news team. Daniel, age 13 Money Matters: Of our 2013 graduates all but one have opened checking or savings accounts. Twenty members participated in the program in 2014. This fall we used the last 15 minutes of each class to play a stock market game to learn about investments. Each teen had $30,000 in play money to invest in the stock market. Each week they were able to buy and sell as much as they wanted. They learned a valuable lesson about risk versus reward in the stock market. I was able to win the stocks challenge because I didn’t invest my $ the first week. I did research and invested in stocks with different levels of risk. I put most of my money into low risk stocks. That way I wouldn’t lose all of my money. Then I used 1/3 of my money to invest in high risk stocks. This was really fun. I can’t believe people make money like this. Karizma, age 16 Health & Life Skills Mrs. Bock’s Etiquette Class This year, 27 boys and girls participated in the 3week-long etiquette class. They learned about proper table manners, how to set a formal table, how to engage in a proper conversation at the dinner table, how to write a thank you letter and how to introduce their friends and family to a new acquaintance. At the end of the program, the members were treated to a 3-course dinner at the Wine Cask where they put all of their newfound skills to use. This was a special treat for many of the members who had never eaten in a fine dining establishment. Between 85 and 100 members attended the following Health & Life Skills Assemblies this year. American Medical Response led an assembly on what they do when they receive a 911 call. Camp
Canine led an Animal Safety program, and the Santa Barbara City Fire Department taught our members about fire safety. Mike McDonald from Valhalla Fitness presented an assembly about how much sugar is in sodas. The Smart Leaders program demonstrated to 24 teens how to manage the peer pressure to experiment with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, and premature sexual activity. By giving them the tools that they need to resist pressures and educating them about the dangers of these activities, they will make much smarter decisions when it comes to these topics. My favorite lesson in SMART leaders was the one where I used 3 cups and different chemicals to show how young people could be affected by peer pressure, slowly becoming a person they can’t even recognize. I also showed how will power/strength can defeat peer pressure every time. I taught them that willpower is universal, if you want to be healthy and you refuse a piece of candy you feel good about yourself. The same thing happens with ATOD’s or sexual pressures, (alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs). If I say no, all that matters is how I feel, and if I feel good and strong saying no, that’s all that matters. Mathew, age 16 Big Buddies/Little Buddies: 16 teens and 19 youth participated in this program. Conversation about buddies with Sergio age 7 Sergio “Why can’t we do buddies every day?” Me “Well the older kids need to do other programs on other days; they need to learn how to be grownups.” Sergio “They should never be grownups; they should just be our big buddies forever.” Me “They will be your big buddies forever, but they have to grow up. Someday you will even grow up” Sergio “Maybe someday if I do grow up I can be a big buddy and help a kid carve a pumpkin.” Me “I have no doubt that you’ll be a great big buddy someday.” Sports, Fitness, and Recreation Our Sports, Fitness, and Recreation programs keep our members active and exposes members to new activities. In addition to indoor soccer, dodgeball, and more traditional physical education programs, we offered golf lessons through First Tee last summer. We also offered field trips to a paintball park, bowling alley, and rock climbing gym, trampoline club, and swimming pool. This year, our members also experienced sailing and kayaking for the first time.
For our team sports, we have a strict policy that stresses academic performance. If athletes are failing a class, they are not allowed to participate in practice or games until their grades are improved. In the spring, we reached over 300 players in our in-house basketball program where we collaborated with the Westside Boys & Girls Club, Page Youth Center, and La Cumbre Junior High. Over 200 people per game night attended the games this year. The SB Ballers traveling basketball program with 3rd grade through 12th grade students who play in tournaments throughout southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. At our end of season banquet, over 600 attendees celebrated the players as they received trophies and medals for their participation. During the summer, over 200 players participate in our in-house soccer program and an additional 200 players in our league come from the Westside Boys & Girls Club and Goleta Boys & Girls Club. 5 divisions from Pre-K through 8th grade use our field behind the Club and the fields at Franklin Elementary School. This year 400 people a night visiting the Club for games. Our soccer program is a feeder to the high school teams. We support academic excellence by enforcing the rules set out in school for passing grades in order to be eligible to play in the leagues. This year, we started a new chapter of the Pacific Youth Football League (PYFL). In our inaugural season, we had 160 players participate – 80 of which had never played football. The players were broken into 4 teams based on age and weight. During the season, they played in 10 games. An unanticipated but welcome benefit from forming a Chapter was that we were able to collaborate very closely with the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Through the partnership, we used their fields for trainings and games. Six of our players are invited to play in the All Stars. 15 players on our 1st and 2nd grade team played in our flag football program this year. Our team won the Superbowl Championship for their division. Thanks to your continued support, we are able to offer these valuable programs to our members at a very low cost. In many cases, we offer scholarships for those who would otherwise be unable to participate.