CAMPAIGN FOR GREAT KIDS
WHEN SCHOOL IS OUT, CLUBS ARE IN Greetings, A new year has arrived, and with it, a new call to action to invest in the Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County. As we look forward to all the growth possibilities before us in 2015, it is important to do so in a way that ensures sustainable practices. Over the last year, our membership is up more than 32% and we are seeing nearly 400 youth each day at our Clubs in Anacortes, La Conner, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley. Amazingly enough, under the leadership of our committed and dedicated Board of Directors and new Executive Director, Ron McHenry, we have been able to meet this need while keeping expenses nearly flat. However, finding new efficiencies, evaluating operations and implementing best practices can only stretch our dollar so far. With our Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley Clubs facing the dilemma of now being at-capacity due to budgetary limitations, waiting lists have had to be established. Kids are voting with their feet, and with data received through the National Youth Outcomes Initiative, we know we are making a difference in Skagit County; that difference starts with our donor-investors making available the unrestricted operating funds needed to change the lives of more than 1,400 youth each year. Our Campaign for GREAT Kids is designed to serve two purposes. Not only is it important that we work to increase our resources so that more youth may be served, but we want to educate our community about what it is Clubs do to impact our community. With a successful Campaign start, our Board of Directors and staff has participated 100% in making their own gifts. In fact, as Board President, I’m rather proud to share that the average annual staff gift for the 2015 campaign was $232! With so many of our staff being part-time, and working just 15-20 hours each week, this is a significant and sacrificial investment on their part. We hope that you will consider contributing to our Annual Campaign, knowing that your funds will go fully to support our mission, to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Yours in service, Stephanie Hooper Board President
OUR MISSION: To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.
OUR VALUES: FUN • RESPECT • INTEGRITY COMMUNITY • ACCEPTANCE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS President – Stephanie Hooper Bayside Specialties 1st Vice President – Mark Lawrence Simply Yards Landscaping 2nd Vice President – Mike Gubrud Mike Gubrud Farmers Insurance Agency Treasurer – Becky Taft Skagit Bank Secretary – Carrie Wallace Skagit Bank Past President – Annette Booth Booth Insurance/Allstate Insurance Co. Past President – Mike Crawford Skagit Aggregates, LLC Past President – Maggie Potter Community Relations Services Member – Pat Barrett Barrett Financial Community Giving Project Member – Kate Bennett Leadership Skagit Member – Dr. Carl Bruner MVSD Superintendent Member – Ian Crawford Washington Federal Member – Jacki Huerta Swinomish Casino & Lodge Member – Kelly Kutchick Whidbey Island Bank Member – Karen Mills Member – Tom Pasma Tom L. Pasma Auctioneers Co-Owner Double S Quarter Horses, Inc Member – Sherri Stites Sherri Stites, CPA Member – Kelly Tuohig Shell
LEARN The conversation about Academic Success occurs early and often at the Boys & Girls Club. It isn’t one about simply graduating high school, instead it’s a discussion about how an entire scholastic career, including post-secondary education or training, prepares an individual for life. For our youngest members, not yet old enough to be in a traditional school system, it’s about preparing them to be ready to enter kindergarten and to be able to succeed. Once a child is in elementary school, we offer programs to keep them thinking beyond the regular school day, as well as academic assistance and tutoring. When youth are in middle school and high school, we work hard to prepare them for the college application and scholarship process, as well as enable them to find the right pathway when they graduate. However, a college degree is not the answer for everyone. We want our kids to have the option to pursue that goal if they like, so we prepare accordingly. Ultimately, ensuring Academic Success means having a plan for the future, whether it is College, Trade School, entry into the Armed Forces, an Apprenticeship, or other full-time employment. Club members have dreams and we work to facilitate the fruition of those dreams in a calculated, meaningful way. Nolan knows the importance of going to school every day, trying hard to complete homework to the best of his ability, submitting it on-time, and being personally responsible for his education. Nolan wants to be a scientist and create things that help people. In order to reach that goal, he must study hard and plan carefully, and the Club is here to make that happen. Our members know how important it is to LEARN.
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I CAME TO THE CLUB BECAUSE MY MOM HAS TO WORK AND I NEEDED SOMEWHERE TO GO. I’LL BE LEAVING TO BECOME A SCIENTIST AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE. - Nolan T., age 9, 2 Year Club Member
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LIVE Brianna knows that she must model a Healthy Lifestyle herself if she expects to succeed in her future role as a Pediatric Physician. In Triple Play, youth learn the importance of staying active while balancing a healthy mind, body, and soul. Members can participate in sport clubs, tournaments, field days, and more, to build self-esteem and good sportsmanship qualities. We encourage our youth to be active for 60 minutes each day, and ensure they have organized and free-play activities at the Club to meet that goal. Other programs like Healthy Habits work to introduce important nutrition routines early, so a child reaches for a granola bar instead of a candy bar, and does so because of a conscious choice. Passport to Manhood and SMART Girls pairs our kids up with specific mentors and advisors in curriculum designed to help teens navigate through adolescence and gain skills in avoiding peer pressure, especially regarding the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and drugs. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County post outcomes far above the national average in these areas; in 2014, 100% of our youth abstained from using tobacco products. Reflecting the values and interests of our communities, our Club kids learn about other ways to be active and healthy, including utilization of the bounty of public parks and open spaces for outdoor recreation activities, and consuming locally grown and sourced foodstuffs. It’s not only that it is delicious, and generally better for one’s health, but keeping it local eliminates some environmental impact as well. Every day, our kids are learning to LIVE.
TO THE CLUB BECAUSE “ II CAME WAS SHY AND WANTED TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS. I’LL BE LEAVING TO BECOME A PEDIATRICIAN.
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- Brianna R., age 13, 7 Year Club Member
LEAD At more than $48,000, incarcerating a juvenile in the state of Washington is incredibly expensive. That’s much more than providing them with a safe, fun, and positive place to go during the important out-of-school hours and then engaging them in programs and activities that have proven results. For the Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County, it costs about $1,200 a year per member to provide services at one of our four Clubhouses—located in Anacortes, La Conner, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley. Kids don’t come to the Club to have their character changed. They often arrive because they’ve heard it’s fun, or they have no where else to go. The Club works to place professionally trained staff and screened mentors and volunteers with our members so that relationships of trust can be built upon a foundation of fun and engagement. Through programs like Keystone and Torch Clubs, iCivics, Youth for Unity, and Youth of the Year, our Club members learn the importance of Good Character & Citizenship; be an engaged citizen involved in the community, register to vote, and model strong character. For Kylee, this journey means coming full-circle. The Club has impacted her life so deeply that she wants to return, become a staff member and affect change in others. When most teens are dreaming of becoming a sports hero, television personality, or some profession that provides a significant amount of salary, having one that instead desires to enter the unforgiving world of non-profit leadership is refreshing and provides hope for the future. As one of our members, Kylee will leave the Club with the clear outcome and expectation that it is important to LEARN and LIVE, so that one may someday LEAD.
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I CAME TO THE CLUB SO I COULD HAVE A SAFE PLACE TO BE. I’LL BE LEAVING TO GET MY EDUCATION AND THEN COME BACK TO BE A STAFF MEMBER MYSELF.
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- Kylee W., age 13, 3 Year Club Member
Administrative Office PO Box 947 1605 William Way, Ste B Mount Vernon, WA 98273 360-419-3723 (phone/fax) Anacortes Club 904 6th St. Anacortes, WA 98221 360-588-9045 La Conner Club 305 N. Sixth St. La Conner, WA 9825 7 360-466-3672 Mount Vernon Club 1100 N. LaVenture Rd. Mount. Vernon, WA 9827 3 360-428-6995 Sedro-Woolley Club 915 McGarigle Rd. Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 360-856-1830
PRINTING The printing of this Booklet was generously provided by K&H Integrated Printing Solutions. K&H has committed to printing all of our major publications for the next several years. We are very grateful for this in-kind donation, without which, we would not be able to produce such a high quality publication. K&H recognizes the value of providing the community with these print materials. Educating the community about the Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County provides us a basis for continued fundraising so that we may offer the Youth of our Community the Greatest Future possible.
MEASUREMENT & ACCOUNTABILITY Boys & Girls Clubs have an incredible list of alumni who speak to the role the Boys & Girls Clubs played in their development. Denzel Washington, Jennifer Lopez, Martin Sheen, General Wesley Clark and President William Jefferson Clinton are among many who got their start in a local Club, just like our kids. It’s not enough to have their stories to know that we are making a difference. Each year, we measure our impact in a variety of ways to ensure our kids get the best Club Experience, and that our investors and communities receive value in return for their commitment to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County. Most of the statistics in this publication come from our participation in the National Youth Outcomes Initiative (NYOI). As a charter participant, we are able to establish trends based on multiple years of data that is sourced directly from our youth during annual testing periods. NYOI provides measurement indicators on our three strategic outcome areas: Academic Success, Healthy Lifestyles, and Good Character & Citizenship—in addition to indicators related to the overall Club Experiences of members. Additionally, each year staff complete a Formula for Impact Assessment that helps our Clubs assess and improve the quality of programming as well as deepen our impact on the youth we serve, and a Child Safety Assessment—a tool that measures safety policies and procedures in 50 different areas including transportation, facilities, hazards, emergency response, and more. To ensure organizational health overall, as part of our relationship with Boys & Girls Clubs of America we are provided with a free consultancy each year to review our Key Performance Indicators that includes 21 different areas and promotes benchmarking against similar Clubs around the region and nation, in addition to tracking our own performance over time. Each year, an audit is conducted by licensed, certified public accounts who analyze our financial transactions, procedures, and activities in order to assess the fiscal soundness of the organization. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County believes strongly in full transparency and accountability. We are happy to make copies available of our Annual Audited Financial Statements, Form 990, real-time Profit & Loss reports, NYOI data, and more, upon request.
89%
of our Youth (ages 6-18) are planning on ATTENDING COLLEGE Teen expectations for College (ages 11-18)
26% 33% 31% 4-year College Degree
67%
of our Members Engage in Physical Activity 5 or more DAYS A WEEK
41%
67%
of our Members Eat 2 or more servings of FRUITS PER DAY
81%
of our Members Participate in Club-Based SERVICE Compared to 72% Nationally
93%
of our Teen Members VOLUNTEER Compared to 69% Nationally
LEAD.
NSHIP IZE
GOOD C H
of our Members Eat 3 or more servings of VEGETABLES PER DAY
CTER & CI A T AR
Ph.D or Masters Degree
LIVE.
Y LIFESTY H T AL
S LE
HE
Vocational/Trade School or 1-2 Years of College
LEARN.
MIC SUCC E E AD
SS
AC
BY THE NUMBERS
OUR MISSION
TO ENABLE ALL YOUNG PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO NEED US MOST, TO REALIZE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL AS PRODUCTIVE, CARING, RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS.
OUR VALUES
AC HE
LIFEST THY Y L A
S LE
R ACTE & CIT R A
NSHIP IZE
GOOD C H
EMIC SUCCE D A
SS
OUR OUTCOMES
FUN, RESPECT, INTEGRITY, COMMUNITY, AND ACCEPTANCE.
Graduate from high school ready for college, trade school, military or employment
Adopt a healthy diet, practice healthy lifestyle choices and make a lifelong commitment to fitness Be an engaged citizen involved in the community, register to vote and model strong character
LEARN. LIVE. LEAD.