Diversity Spotlight: How the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay Gives Children the Tools to Achieve Their Dreams

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay has been helping young people and their families for almost 100 years. With 22 clubs in Hillsborough and Pasco counties and three more on the way, they’re making incredible strides to lift up children, their families and their communities.

Helping Tampa’s Youth Create Their Own Futures

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America is one of the largest nonprofits serving youth today, with several hundred agencies across the country collaborating on programming, training and best practices to provide top-notch services to their members. The organization focuses on three pillars of development for children ages 5 to 18 – academic success, character and leadership, and health and wellness. The Tampa Bay organization offers support through freestanding clubs and clubs set up in schools, focusing their efforts where they feel they can make the biggest difference and serve families with the greatest need.

CEO Terry Carter describes part of their mission as “teaching our communities to fish.” The impact of their clubs has far-reaching effects that go beyond the children they support. Studies show that kids are the most vulnerable after the school day, from 3 to 6 p.m. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay provide a safe learning environment for children to spend their time after school, giving their parents piece of mind so they can focus on their jobs and earning a living.

At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay, kids have the chance to build positive peer-to-peer and mentor relationships as they learn critical skills to become productive, self-sufficient and ready to handle the challenges that young adults often face. Programming specialists and mentors offer a wide range of programs, and community members from various professions volunteer their time and expertise to teach about workforce readiness.

This focus on academic enrichment and career development enables the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay to help their members break generations of poverty and create economic mobility. Last year, they served more than 12,500 children, with 100% of graduating students finishing on time.

Building Back a Sense of Normalcy

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay did everything, from day-to-day operations to programming. They had to close their clubs in March of 2020, but worked night and day to get resources back up and running by that summer. They’re starting to approach a new version of normalcy and are seeing member counts climb back up to pre-pandemic levels, but not without some changes.

The pandemic opened everyone’s eyes to the importance of mental health, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay took this lesson to heart. In addition to pandemic-related protocols like increased cleaning and virtual services, all of the organization’s staff are now trained in mental health awareness to support the unique challenges kids emerging from a global pandemic are dealing with. The organization is looking hopefully toward the future and finding ways to bring stability and normalcy back for young people, their families, and community stakeholders.

It Takes a Village

These changes haven’t come without a cost, though. Like many organizations, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay had to manage increased sanitation procedures, staff raises to stay competitive and attract the best talent, and unexpected operating costs associated with the pandemic. And this is in addition to the cancellation of in-person fundraising events for the past two years.

Chief Development Officer Elisa Jackson credits strong community partnerships with helping them not only sustain all 22 clubs during the pandemic, but also expand their services through new clubs. They have a longstanding relationship and operating agreement with Hillsborough County Public Schools, which allows them to set up clubs in schools across the region. They work with a long list of partners, like the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, that support their mission and help them reach more children in the community.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is another important partner, setting up substations in seven of the organization’s clubs. This helps to cover the costs of these clubs, but more importantly, it allows children to interact with officers and see them as positive role models and someone they can turn to if they need help.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay are always looking for more community partners. Businesses can support the organization in several ways:

• • Volunteer their time, either for a day of giving or on an ongoing basis
  • Donate to fund operations and help provide additional recreational opportunities
  • Adopt club members or sponsor an entire club to defray operating and programming costs
  • Give to upcoming drives for supplies, including backpacks and hygiene products to help as kids head back to school

The best way to get involved is to reach out to the organization to find the option that works best for your company.

Phelps Partner Karl Brandes has volunteered with Boys and Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay and served on their executive board for over 35 years. When he moved to Tampa from California in the early 80s, Karl immediately looked for opportunities to contribute to the community. He quickly recognized that the best way to help was to focus on Tampa’s future and work with disadvantaged youth as he had in California.

“To me, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay presented the best opportunity to do just that, and I was right,” Karl said. “Time and time again over the years, they have been there for our kids. The time spent with the kids, the money raised, and all the kids’ successes have been gratifying and rewarding. I often note that I get more out of the experience than they do. I would not change a minute of my time spent in behalf of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay.”

Phelps is a proud community partner of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay, and we hope you’ll join us in supporting them as they continue their life-changing work.