The first Club was founded in 1860 by several women in Hartford, Conn., who believed that boys who roamed the streets should have a positive alternative. It was for boys only, and soon other communities in New England decided that such places would be good for their young men. In 1906, 53 independent Boys' Clubs, as they were known then, came together in Boston to form a national organization, the Federated Boys' Clubs, and in 1931 they became Boys Clubs of America. In 1956, the group was chartered by Congress. To reflect its increased service to young women, the organization became Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 1990. In 1996, Roxanne Spillett, current president of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, was appointed to head the organization.
2006 marked the national organization's centennial; 4,000 Club professionals, local board volunteers and national staff celebrated this anniversary.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America has more than 4,000 autonomous local Clubs which are affiliates of the national organization. Clubs serve some 4.8 million young people – generally between the ages of 6 and 18 – through membership and community outreach, and are located in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and on U.S. military bases in America and around the world. Professional Club staff total some 49,000 worldwide.
Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington, a former Club member, has been the spokesperson for Boys & Girls Clubs of America since 1993. [1]
In its latest "Philanthropy 400" report, The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Boys & Girls Clubs of America number one among youth organizations for the 13th consecutive year, and number 12 among all nonprofit organizations.
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