May 24 by: Daniel LeBlanc

Developing Resources for a Strong Future

One Child at a Time For almost fifty years now, the Boys & Girls Club of Moncton has been providing children and youth with programs and services designed to help them leave the dimensions of dependency toward interdependent lifestyles. The Club is not only a home away from home for hundreds of children, but also a focal point within the community that everyone can identify with. The Clubs main focus is centered around community outreach and prevention programs, networking, and youth development; however, our physical setting has become a second home for many children, a meeting place, a recreational center for the whole community. The Boys and Girls Club of Moncton plays an increasingly important role as a source of support, particularly as a service provider, and also as a referral agency. We all too often find ourselves being approached first by the client themselves, even before alternatives can be explored.

What's your perception? We realize that the present perception of the Club in the eyes of the public will depend on what it has seen or heard about us, and that is where it gets a bit complicated. Depending on where you are from in the South Eastern New Brunswick area, our name could, and often does, conjure up visions of
- a summer camp for kids,
- a recreational program,
- a group home,
- a school age childcare service,
- a drug counseling program,
- a self-help program for parents of acting-out teenagers,
- a leadership development program,
- peer counseling,
- a support program for single mothers who have challenged children,
- a hot lunch program for kids,
- a midnight prevention service for children and youth,
- a program that works with school dropouts or
- an outreach and transportation program serving various communities, - - and, you would be right on all accounts. So, you can see the Boys & Girls Club of Moncton is not just a building, or a particular approach, - what we are, is a community based system of getting important programs and services to children and families who need them most, resulting in energies and time dedicated to the interaction and establishment of programs to meet the unmet needs of kids between the ages of 2 and 18 years. Further, our Club plays an important role as advocate and spokesperson for youth.

Our program delivery falls within the following categories, and are often provided to the community in direct collaboration with other service providers who share common goals. Our Service Categories: 1.Physical Safety 2.Health / Nutrition / Environment 3.Family Life 4.Asset Development 5.Leadership Development 6.Recreation and Leisure 7.Employment and Economic Security 8.Corrective and Developmental Services 9.Education / Vocational Development 10.Conflict Management 11.Pet Therapy For Youth 12.Interdependent Living 13.Prevention