SHELTON — The Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley has received a $35,000 grant from the Valley Community Foundation and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. The award will provide general operating support for the next fiscal year.
Funding will help the Club deliver its core programming to ensure each child has an optimal club experience: one in which members feel safe, both physically and emotionally; have fun; receive support and recognition from caring adults who set expectations for them; and have. A sense of belonging.
“We are always looking to increase our impact through positive, educational programs and keeping in step with issues facing our members,” says Shaye A. Roscoe, Chief Executive Officer, “including breaking the cycles of poverty, the opioid epidemic, social emotional support, and workforce development. Implementing more programs and activities that align with our mission increases operating costs, and we are grateful to the Valley Community Foundation and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven for this grant award, which will provide substantial support for these costs.”
The Club’s core programming includes Academic Success, Character & Citizenship, and Healthy Lifestyles. Academic Success programming enables our members to be effective, engaged learnings who are on track to graduate and to help members explore their interests and passions and develop their employability stills.
Character & Citizenship programming helps youth become responsible, caring citizens and acquire skills to participate in the democratic process. It also helps members develop leadership skills and gain opportunities for planning, decision-making, contributing to Club and community, and celebrating our national heritage.
Healthy Lifestyles programming is designed to incorporate healthy living and learning throughout the Club experience, emphasizing good nutrition, exercise, and all-around well-being. The programs address the way a child’s healthy behavior is influenced by personal beliefs and exposure to positive role modeling. In addition to nutrition education, activities focus on helping youth assess, practice, identify, consider, and recognize healthy behaviors and messages.
The funding will also support the Club’s extensive training for its youth development professionals, which delivers appropriate, ongoing safety education prior to allowing access to members.
Finally, the funding will help support the Club’s costs for participation in Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s mandatory annual external safety assessment, which reviews all organizational standards for our two Clubhouses and three school sites on a rotating basis. The assessment includes full site walk-throughs of all inside and outside program spaces, conducting interviews with staff, and observing staff-to-youth interactions.
The Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley has been serving Valley youth for more than 65 years, with clubhouses in downtown Shelton and Ansonia, as well as school sites in Elizabeth Shelton, Mohegan, and Booth Hill. For more information about the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, visit BGC-LNV.org.
