Spotlight On The Boys & Girls Clubs Of America Military Youth Program

Imagine a childhood where you get moved around from place to place every two years—or less. You never get to settle into a community and grow up with familiar faces, and you never get to experience lasting childhood friendships that many adults later look back upon fondly. Your family is a military family, and in service to the nation, you all end up moving from base to base every so often throughout your formative years.

This is where the Boys & Girls Clubs of American comes in, having official club locations in all fifty states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Island and on US military bases where anyone can be a member. The numerous locations of the Club allows for those who constantly move from state to state or military base to military base to continue to be a member of the Club no matter their location.

This is also why the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the U.S. Armed Forces joined together in 1991 to establish the Military Youth Program, to help children in military families handle the unique challenges of modern military life. Today, this positive partnership still supports children of military personnel with valuable youth development programs and activities, giving those who serve our nation and their families assistance where they may need it most.

Savannah Hampton is an excellent example of how the BGCA works side by side with military families. As a 2014 finalist for the Military Youth of the Year honor, she not only experienced multiple moves around the nation as a part of a military family, but Savannah also lost her mother to cancer at a young age. The Rock Island Arsenal Child Youth Services in Illinois gave her the support she needed to grow and thrive under these adverse circumstances.

The Youth Center in Ft. Hood, Texas, helped Shakira Wingate—another 2014 Military Youth of the Year finalist—achieve her goals. With her mother deployed from the base, the Youth Center became her foundation and community rock. With the BGCA program's support, she was able to become the Vice President of her school's National Honor Society and an active member of Student 2 Student and Student Council, while maintaining a 3.47 GPA.

There are many military children like Savannah and Shakira, who just need a little support in order to make good on their potential. The Boys & Girls Clubs of America has proudly serves more than 18,000 military youths across almost 1,300 traditional Clubs.