Located in the heart of Boston’s inner city, Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester (BGCD) has provided life-enhancing programs and opportunities to at-risk young people for nearly 50 years. Our after-school programming and Early Education & Care serves over 4,000 children of all abilities from two months to 18 years old annually. Programs support academic success, healthy lifestyles, social-emotional development, and character and leadership skills. While our community has faced immense challenges throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, BGCD works to continually pivot and meet the needs at every turn.
BGCD supported children and families last year by fully restructuring our programs to provide school-day Learning Hubs. When schools were closed, our doors remained open so our members could have a safe, supervised environment to take part in remote learning. We’re excited this year to be returning to our after-school program model to provide members with a sense of normalcy. We want to ensure that the youth of Dorchester have a chance to socialize, have fun, learn and feel good. New, exciting enrichment program offerings were added this year along with monthly Club-wide field trips. Kids can begin to rebuild important social skills and take advantage of our mental health services. Members can also benefit from academic support, which has been prioritized this year due to the prevalent learning loss caused by the pandemic.
While we are primarily a youth-serving organization, we work with many vulnerable families in the community and connect them with food, baby essentials and needed services. Additionally, through the LIFT (Lifting Individuals and Families Together) program, we offer mobility mentoring to 16 families to help them reach personal and financial goals. Our scope of services will continue to increase as families turn to us for support in new ways
Last year’s Boston Marathon team and the funds they raised strengthened BGCD’s ability to respond to the changing needs of our community in the face of the pandemic. This year’s team has the ability to make a HUGE impact during this pivotal time in our history. Please consider joining our team and helping us to raise critical funds for the youth and families that we serve.
Officially qualified participants who are already entered in the 127th Boston Marathon that wish to raise funds for The Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester may still do so using the learn more button below.