In 2019 The Club was flourishing and filled daily. At the start of 2020, we served an average of 85 kids a day. Days were great, as the kids enjoyed activities, presentations, access to a wide variety of board games, flexibility and overall being a kid.
Fast-forward to today's challenges, the social environments for us all have changed, but through the eyes of a child, it's been their entire world that has changed. As this year has been filled with multiple challenges and overwhelming adaptations, the youth's lives have been impacted greatly. We have learned through the many conversations with club kids and the community's youth, they had lost most of their privileges, like attending school, going to the park, hanging out with friends, or visiting extended family. Summer fun was absent between the school loss and the chaos of parents and guardians scrambling to keep employment.
As we came out of a state quarantine, The Club was ready with revised and adopted new safety policies, and procedures following all requirements to ensure an overall healthy environment for members and personnel.
Some highlights this year were: Growing our food security efforts (adding 2 delivery sites for 9 weeks during summer), building stronger collaborations with schools, Coalition for the Homeless, and Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, (providing personnel for teaching labs at Greenway and Lowell Schools) and (filling the gap on food security in our community). A 2021 goal is rolling out a weekend Snack in a Sack Program, providing food boxes weekly with simple healthy snacks, meals, and fresh produce for the 3-day weekends. Plus be an emergency food box distributor, through the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.
While the youth programming structure changed, we re-opened in mid-June for the summer months, serving 53 youth. Currently, we have 124 registered and serving 60 during after-school hours. All mandates are followed, mask-wearing, daily temperature checks, 1:10 ratios, and lots of handwashing/sanitizing, and YES no high-fives. Through all this, the Boys & Girls Club of Bisbee has gained generous support to move forward, safely, and proceed with mentoring kids. Over the eight-teen years in operation, BGCB has never had to lay off personnel, close doors for kids, or remove so many programming supplies. In our mission, we state, "To serve the youth especially those who need us most".
Although this year we all have been tested and modified to maneuver personally and professionally, The Club's role is just being open, providing some sound support, and normalcy to a club kid's life. As the youth need us most we have seen all children from various demographics in need of some sort of service. With the loss of all fundraisers and increased expenses in hourly wages+ staffing requirements, consumables, PPE, and disinfecting supplies, the community support is imperative going into 2021.
As the world is complicated, helping KIDS is SIMPLE.
-Boys & Girls Club of Bisbee Board of Directors
