NEW YORK -- America's young people need our help, concluded a panel of child development experts that came together in New York City today to examine issues impacting youth. Too many children and teens are not receiving the guidance they need to graduate from high school, to avoid the effects of violence, gangs and drugs, or to become responsible adults.
The panel, brought together by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), issued a call to action asking Americans to become outraged over what is happening to children, to make a commitment to help reverse the negative trends affecting kids in communities throughout the nation, and to join BGCA in its mission of changing and saving young lives. The organization's
national spokesperson and alumnus Denzel Washington, along with actor and alumnus Cuba Gooding Jr. and WNBA star and alumna Swin Cash, joined the panel to discuss the positive and profound impact the Boys & Girls Clubs have had on their lives.
The panel also discussed the results of a new BGCA survey of Club
alumni that confirmed the positive impact Boys & Girls Clubs have on kids
who pass through their doors. The group concluded by asking Americans
everywhere to help build more safety nets for America's youth by supporting
Boys & Girls Clubs and other community-based organizations that serve
children.
Panelists included Harvard University's Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, one of the nation's preeminent child psychiatrists; Northeastern University's Dr. James Alan Fox, national youth violence expert, professor of criminal justice and author; Harris Interactive Chairman/CEO Humphrey Taylor; BGCA Chairman Rick Goings and President/CEO Roxanne Spillett; and Stacey Walker, 19, Boys & Girls Clubs of America's 2006-07 National Youth of the Year, from Des Moines, Iowa.
According to the BGCA survey, 57 percent of alumni believe the Club
saved their life. Verbatim comments reveal that alumni found a safe haven
at the Club, away from disruptive or dysfunctional family situations or
other negative influences in their neighborhoods.
"The Club was my whole world from the time I was 6 years old. It's
where I learned how to focus and set my mind on a goal; it's where I
learned about consequences and how to be a man," recalls Denzel Washington.
"I believe we all have the responsibility to give something back; to leave
the world a better place for our having been here. For me, that means
giving back to Boys & Girls Clubs of America, whose programs helped shape me and gave my life purpose and direction. I can't think of a nobler or more fulfilling mission than to guide our young children and set them down the right path."
"As a nation, we need to provide more safe havens for children and
teens in our communities," said Roxanne Spillett, president/CEO of Boys &
Girls Clubs of America. "Today we call on all civic leaders, educators,
parents and other caring adults to 'share the outrage' concerning the
dropout epidemic, the increasing levels of violence, and other growing
threats to the well-being of our young people. Boys & Girls Clubs will do
their part, with the support of many caring and concerned people throughout the country, but we cannot turn the tide alone."
Four Major Areas of Concern
The panel focused its discussion on four major areas of concern from
the BGCA survey, impacting America's youth today: crime and violence, high
school dropout rates, obesity and health, and crises affecting
African-American males. Based on the survey results, a significant number
of Boys & Girls Club alumni agree that they would not have graduated from
high school, attended college, or stayed out of trouble if not for the
Club.
-- Crime & Substance Abuse: Crime, drug and alcohol use are among the
most serious problems affecting America's young people. Every 24 hours,
more than 15,000 teens use drugs for the first time. Every two hours a
youth is murdered. Every four minutes a youth is arrested for an
alcohol-related crime and every seven minutes a youth is arrested for a
drug crime (Crime Time by Safe Place). And in the next 24 hours, 3,506
teens will run away from home (Teen Help). Some 67 percent of Club alumni
attribute their ability to avoid difficulty with the law to the influence
of Club staff, and 67 percent also say the Club is where they learned how
to "say no" to drugs and alcohol.
-- Dropout Rates: In 2006 alone, 1.2 million teenagers did not graduate
from high school in the United States -- that's 30 percent of the class of
2006. The number increases to an astonishing 50 percent among some
minorities. According to a survey by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,
88 percent of those surveyed (ages 16 to 25 in 25 urban, rural and suburban
communities nationwide) had passing grades when they dropped out of school,
and 91 percent of those dropouts said they knew that graduating was vital
to their future success. According to the BGCA alumni survey, some 28
percent report they would have dropped out of high school if not for the
Club, plus 51 percent achieved a higher level of education than they
thought possible because of attending the Club.
-- Childhood Obesity: Obesity and lack of physical fitness is also a
serious issue affecting today's youth. According to a study by the Centers
for Disease Control (CDC), 16 percent of adolescents in the United States
are overweight. This figure has nearly tripled in the last 20 years. Some
25 percent of young people (ages 12-21) report that they do not participate
in any vigorous physical activity and 14 percent report that they don't
even participate in any light to moderate physical activity. This lack of
physical fitness and abundance of obesity means that 16 percent of our
teens are at risk for heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood
pressure. Type 2 diabetes has also increased dramatically in teens as a
direct result of adolescent obesity. Of the alumni surveyed, 80 percent
said that their Club experience made a positive impact on their attitude
toward fitness and health, with 74 percent participating in organized
sports.
-- African-American Males: According to a 2006 New York Times article
by Erik Eckholm, the problems affecting many African-American males have
become an epidemic. Eckholm states that about one-third of black males are
awaiting trial, in jail or prison, or on probation or parole. In their
lifetime, nearly one-third of black males will spend some time in jail or
prison. Black males are more likely to drop out of high school, be placed
in special education classes, and be suspended or expelled, but less likely
to be placed in gifted and talented classes. More than 50 percent of black
males in inner-city schools do not graduate from high school. However,
according to the survey, some 73 percent of African-American male alumni
said the "Club saved my life." Most impressive -- 34 percent of
African-American BGC male alumni earned a four-year college degree,
compared to the national rate of 16 percent (2006 Current Population
Survey.)
"There's an eclipse of traditional community in today's generation:
higher rates of divorce, the decline of churchgoing and the fact that more
people live in urban areas, where they may not even know their neighbors.
Kids need a community where they are safe, where people know and care about
them, someplace they can go after school and do their homework instead of
getting into trouble on the streets," concluded Dr. James Alan Fox. "Boys &
Girls Clubs of America is an organization that is able to provide that
much-needed community for millions of kids."
Impact 2012: Building for the Future
Boys & Girls Clubs of America used the panel discussion as the official
kick-off for Impact 2012, the national organization's five-year strategic
plan. For the period between 2008 and 2012, BGCA has identified several
strategic priorities, the most important being the deepening of impact on
young lives through:
-- Increased overall daily attendance, and increased frequency of
attendance for each Club member;
-- Emphasis on outcome measurement of success indicators, including
academic achievement, juvenile crime reduction, and level of civic
engagement;
-- Outreach to more young people and families most in need;
-- Special emphasis on serving the needs of teens;
-- Strengthening of local Clubs through enhanced training and
development of professional youth development staff;
-- Establishment of new Clubs in communities where the needs are
greatest, reaching a total of 5,000 service locations by 2012.
Methodology
The survey was conducted online and by telephone within the United
States by Harris Interactive(R) on behalf of Boys & Girls Clubs of America
(BGCA) between November 15, 2006 and March 16, 2007, among 1,014 BGCA
alumni (18 and older). Figures for age, sex, race, education, household
income, and region were weighted where necessary to bring them into line
with their actual proportions in the population of BGCA alumni. Propensity
score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be
online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability
sampling are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not
possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error,
error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording
and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore,
Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are
misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling
errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples
with 100 percent response rates. These are only theoretical because no
published polls come close to this ideal.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (http://www.bgca.org) comprises a
national network of more than 4,000 neighborhood-based facilities, with 4.8
million youth served through Club membership and community outreach, in all
50 states and on U.S. military bases worldwide. Known as "The Positive
Place for Kids," the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character development
programs on a daily basis for children 6-18 years old, conducted by a
full-time professional staff. Key Boys & Girls Club programs emphasize
leadership development, education and career exploration, financial
literacy, health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation,
and family outreach. An estimated 30 million American youth have been
served by Boys & Girls Clubs since the founding of BGCA in 1906. National
headquarters are located in Atlanta.
SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America
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