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Out of over 3,500 Clubs from across the country, the Boys & Girls Club, Smyrna Unit has won the award for Best Overall Participation and Attendance by conducting a comprehensive program that helped increase the average daily attendance.
The Honor Awards are Boys & Girls Clubs of America's (BGCA) most coveted and prestigious awards. This program recognizes local Clubs from throughout the Movement for their achievements in outstanding local program development. Award-winning programs are fun, demonstrate imagination and are linked to observable youth development outcomes. And, year after year, they set new standards for program excellence.
“It is an absolute honor for the community, organization, Smyrna Unit, staff, and all of the volunteers and supporters,” said Todd Bale, Chief Professional Officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County. “There is only one honor award recipient annually in the nation in that category. It is truly an incredible accomplishment, and we are all ecstatic and humbled to be selected this year. It is all of our hopes, dreams and aspirations come true for the youth in this community.”
On August 30, 2010, the Boys & Girls Club opened the doors to a new facility in Smyrna and they immediately increased their average daily attendance by 100 percent. They set a goal to reach an average daily attendance of 250 members by May 2011. By March they had exceeded the goal and were averaging 262 youth each day and by May 288 youth.
At the beginning of this school year they anticipated serving 250 members; however after the first month they were averaging 352 members per day with their highest daily attendance being 397 members. In August 2011, 467 members participated in Club programs forcing them to place new potential members on a waiting list.
“We knew that our numbers would increase with the opening of the new facility,” said Kelly Rubin, Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County, Smyrna Unit Director. “Our staff did an amazing job recruiting members at local schools and implementing open houses, bring-a-friend day, parent’s night out, and family nights. Our biggest success for teen recruitment was through Smyrna West Alternative School. The school brought all of their students and faculty to our Club to offer hands on experience of Club life. Within days of their Club visit, more than twenty of their teens joined our program.”
With the dramatic increase to their membership and average daily attendance, the Smyrna Unit now ranks number one in the state of Tennessee for serving the most youth each day.
The mission of the Boys & Girls Club is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. To learn more about the Boys & Girls Club or any of their programs, visit www.bgcrc.net or call 893-KIDS.
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They are here! Doris Dollars are here and tastier than ever!
What is a Doris Dollar you ask? It is a $7.50 gift certificate to Demo’s Restaurant. For each $5 donation to our local Boys & Girls Club, you will receive one Doris Dollar that is good April 1 through April 30.
Pick yours up today at the Boys & Girls Club in Murfreesboro or Smyrna or any Wilson Bank & Trust in Murfreesboro or Smyrna! We accept cash or check only. Please make check payable to, Boys & Girls Club. Your $5 donation supports the 2,500+ proud members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County.
The mission of the Boys & Girls Club is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. To learn more about the Boys & Girls Club or any of their programs, visit www.bgcrc.net or call 893-KIDS.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County will kick off its first annual “It Just Takes One” campaign. The campaign will raise funds for the Clubs’ after-school programs and services for youth ages 5-18, living in Rutherford County. Scheduled to run through February 28, the campaign seeks donations primarily from individuals.
Serving as the campaign’s chair is Kendra Cooke. The campaign’s goal this year is to raise $100,000 to supply need based scholarships. Cooke said, “Now more than ever, we need to make sure we are providing a safe place for our counties children and youth. Parents are working longer hours to make ends meet and the children are the ones that suffer. If we can assist the parents with the financial burden while keeping their children engaged in our Club, I feel like we can change lives. It is important that we invest in the children that we have at the Boys & Girls club because they are truly our future.”
“The ‘It Just Takes One’ campaign is about providing the ‘youth who need us most’ affordable access to hope, opportunity, and our life-saving programs,” said Todd Bale, the Boys & Girls Clubs Chief Professional Officer. “Children don’t choose their life circumstances, but every child deserves a chance to be successful. We want to be able to say ‘yes’ to every child who needs us, regardless of their ability to pay, and we’ll certainly need the community’s full support to accomplish our goal this year.”
Funds raised will help sponsor kids to attend summer camp and provide quality after-school programs such as the Power Hour homework help program, computer skills training, career exploration, arts and crafts, fitness and sports, and character and leadership programs such as SMART Moves (a prevention program) and Youth of the Year (the Club’s premier recognition program).
The Boys & Girls clubs mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens.
“The cost of providing the Boys & Girls Club experience to one child for a year is about $1,500” said Cooke. “You can see what a valuable investment that is when you compare it to $54,750, the cost of incarcerating a youth for a year in Rutherford County. The Clubs give a good return on investment.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County, founded in 1986, is a non-profit, privately-funded 501(c)(3) organization and depends on private donations and volunteers to accomplish its mission. The Clubs annually serve some 2,000 youth. To make a donation or to volunteer, contact the Boys & Girls Club office at 893-KIDS or visit the web site at www.bgcrc.net.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County has named Todd Bale as the new Chief Professional Officer.
Bale brings over 15 years of Boys & Girls Club experience. His most recent position is CPO with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg, Virginia.
He will assume his new position July 5, becoming only the third CPO in the Club’s more than 25 years of service to the community.
Bale was chosen after a comprehensive, national search that attracted 67 quality applicants.
Also, the Club’s board of directors announced that Derek Blake has been named Director of Operations, moving up from Unit Director of the Murfreesboro Unit.
“I am so proud of Derek Blake for his leadership and our staff for their incredible work that made this transition so smooth,” said Pat Murphy, the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors President. “Todd’s hiring opens a new and exciting chapter for our Club, one that will be focused on continuously improving the health of our already strong organization, and ultimately, serving more youth. Developing a new strategic plan, retiring the debt we assumed with our Smyrna expansion, and celebrating our 25 year anniversary are what we’ll be focused on as Todd comes on board.”
Bale will oversee an operation that includes the top two units in the state for average daily attendance with its Murfreesboro and Smyrna facility, plus a new after-school program at Campus School and a new unit in Shelbyville that has been launched by community members there under the auspices of the Rutherford County organization.
“Our family had very lengthy and detailed criteria for any position that we would entertain, and Rutherford County met or exceeded that criteria at every point,” said Bale. “We are excited to serve the children of Rutherford County and join the community. I feel very humbled, blessed, and honored to be a part of this organization.”
“We are so pleased to bring Todd Bales on Board with our already outstanding staff,” said Kelly Rollins, Boys & Girls Club board member and head of the CPO search committee.
“This process has been an exhausting one for me and my search committee. However, I believe through our hard work and due diligence we have found the right person to lead our organization into the future. I would like to give a special thanks to everyone who served on our committee and to our tremendous staff for the job that each and everyone of them have done on a daily basis to keep the ongoing needs of our Club members a priority. It is my pleasure and honor to be associated with this organization.”
During his tenure, at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg, Bale spearheaded a board development plan that expanded and enriched the board by engaging key community leaders. Bale also launched a media relations mission to bring a culture of transparency and accessibility to the organization’s operations and leadership.
Currently, his organization has a membership of about 600 and serves 1,200 youth annually.
Bale and his wife, Alicia, have six children.
Blake joined the Boys’ Club of Chattanooga at age five and has been in the Boys & Girls Club movement for over 32 years. His career with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County began as a Program Staff in 1997. Most recently, he served as the Unit Director of the Murfreesboro Unit for 4 years.
Blake and his wife, Rhonda, have three sons.
The mission of the Boys & Girls Club is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. To learn more about the Boys & Girls Club or any of their programs, visit www.bgcrc.net or call 893-KIDS.
Shop at JC Penney now through April 26th and round your purchase up to the nearest dollar! Those extra cents (all 100% of them) comes to your local Boys & Girls Clubs!
How does this work you ask? The cashier checking you out should ask if you would like to “Round Up” your purchase to the next whole dollar and you will hopefully say “YES I want to help our Boys & Girls Club!” It’s really that simple!
Have you ever been to the home section? Have you ever looked at their lamps? Or their bedding? I love it all! OR what about Easter….do you need a new dress, new tie? What a great time to shop AND help at the same time.
For the entire month of January every cup of coffee you purchase benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County. You get to pick the price and what better way to help in YOUR own community!
Please go by Just Love Coffee Roasters-129 MTCS Dr. (directly behind Dairy Queen off of Memorial)
Or you can purchase a bag of coffee anytime online www.justlovecoffee.com or throughout the year but please be sure to tell them you want the proceeds to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs!
On June 18th the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County hosted the 2nd Annual BE GREAT Invitational. Approximately 130 youth participated from four Clubs across Middle Tennessee. They competed in running events ranging from the 50 yard dash to the 1600 meter relay. First, second and third place finishers were awarded with medals and the Smyrna Unit was awarded the overall team medal.
As the summer began, the Boys & Girls Club of Rutherford County opened their program with the weekly theme, BE A TEAM. Members of the Murfreesboro Unit were not only treated to fieldtrips, but they also learned the importance of operating as a team. Group leaders ran activities and discussions on team building.
On Wednesday, June 2nd and Thursday, June 3rd 82 members visited New Frontiers. They learned the significance of teamwork and cooperation through a low ropes course and enjoyed a high-flying adventure as they flew through the air on the flying squirrel.
Dance has always been an integral part of Italian history and continues to be a thread in the lives of Italians.
Each summer, international dancers from different countries visit Rutherford County and stop by the Boys & Girls Club for lunch and a show.
In June, Italian dancers and musicians visited the Boys & Girls Club and offered a peak into their culture of music, song and dance.
The children watched intently as our guests danced and sang to the beat of a large drum, guitar, violin, wooden scissors, wooden spoon and fork, and an accordion. Some children clapped along and participated with the music.
"I was excited to see the majority of the parents in attendance to celebrate their child's accomplishment," said Ginny Wright, Program Director. "I believe it is important to take time to recognize excellence in our youth."
