By Tim Blaylock, tblaylock@bgcop.org
April 18, 2007

Boys & Girls Club programs complement the school day, rather than extend it. They offer broadening experiences that build enthusiasm for life-long learning.

- Success for all learners: Some children shine in class, others, after school. A visual child may discover a talent for documentary video. A child who learns through movement may excel with an elaborate science project.

- Hooked on learning: Our programs allow youths to choose topics for exploration. When youths choose what they study, their excitement about learning grows.

- Practical skills: Children become more committed students when they realize that sports involves statistics, that design depends on geometry or that music requires measurement, literacy and economics.

- Tangible rewards: Our programs offer tangible results such as models built, poetry published, family history mapped, performances recorded, murals mounted and gardens grown.

- Broader horizons: Ventura County has museums, embassies, monuments, cultural festivals and artifacts from around the world. Field trips and guest speakers are a frequent part of many of our after-school programs.

It is our belief that Boys & Girls Clubs are for all youths; however, we must stay true to our mission and help those who need us most.

The Harvard Family Research Project recently found that:

- Across virtually all out-of-school time contexts, youths from higher income families were more likely to participate than youths from lower income families. This finding suggests a continuing need to target nonschool resources to the most disadvantaged youths.

- For tutoring programs, however, youths from lower income families were more likely to participate than youths from higher income families. This finding may indicate that the academic deficits of disadvantaged youths are limiting their ability to participate in other types of enrichment activities and programs.

But let me ask you to consider the following questions:

Does parental wealth make all that much difference if a child's parents cannot get home until after 6 p.m. to take care of him or her?

Does parental wealth ensure that a child never feels lonely?

Does a child need to be from an affluent family to be happy and successful?

Does a child need to be from a disadvantaged family to have learning disabilities and need extra help and after-school support?

Phrased as they are, these questions seem ridiculous. However, we often fall into the trap of thinking that Boys & Girls Clubs are only pertinent or appropriate for children from economically disadvantaged families.

In fact, anywhere children lack positive influences in their lives where they lack supportive, positive supervision from adults, and a positive place to go, to belong to and share time with friends those children and teens are truly disadvantaged, and they are at risk.

For information on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme, visit www.positiveplace4kids.org or call 815-4959.

VenturaCountyStar.com