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.