What We Do
The Boys & Girls Club of Newark provides hundreds of children in Newark with a safe space to learn to make positive life choices, establish healthy habits, and develop academic skills. Our professionally trained staff provide the support, passion, and guidance to make sure every child has the opportunity to realize their full potential and grow into confident, successful young men and women.
We have four main programs: After school, Summer, Teens, and Community Health.
Academic Success
Children need a safe and intellectually challenging environment to realize their full academic potential.
Power Hour
BGCN staff support children in completing their homework in a fun environment that encourages independent learning and positive feelings about school accomplishments.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
STEM occupations are expected to grow 1.7 times faster than non-STEM jobs. Powered by Samsung, our STEM Center classes include gaming, digital arts, robotics, construction, coding, and much more.
Healthy Lifestyles
Research confirms that exercise makes young brains ready to learn. Children in our programs exercise at least 60 minutes a day, three days a week.
Triple Play
Through activities including basketball, football, swimming, dance, and free play, are a vehicle for children to engage in team activities, while increasing endurance, strength, and confidence.
Healthy Habits
Workshops and activities such as gardening, nutritional education, and tooth-brushing demonstrations allow us to emphasize good nutrition and hygiene as a means to living a successful, healthy life.
Good Character
Through workshops and mentorship, BGCN helps children make good choices, sustain meaningful relationships and develop a positive self-image.
SmartMoves
Our SmartMoves and SmartGirls programs help children learn to “say no” to negative influences by being involved in discussions and workshops that help them strengthen their decision-making skills.
Academic Success
Teens need more than just support with their school work – they are at a pivotal point at which they need to make important life decisions regarding their future. Our programs help them to explore careers or higher education options.
Diplomas 2 Degrees
Diplomas to Degrees (d2D) is a college and career readiness program that guides Club teens as they work toward high school graduation. Activities include visits with guidance counselors, career professionals, and exploring the college application process.
Money Matters
Money Matters promotes financial responsibility and independence among Club members ages 13 to 18. Participants learn how to manage a checking account, create a budget, save and invest, and start a small business.
Music
A well-rounded education is vital for teens. Music is one of the ways in which they can activate the creative side of their brain. Our Teen Center is equipped with professional-grade music instruments including drums, guitars, and DJ set.
Healthy Lifestyles
It’s just as important for teens to take part in physical activities and eat well as it is for younger children. Healthy habits that they cultivate in adolescence will stay with them throughout their lives.
Triple Play
For teens, Triple Play includes free and structured gym time, dance, and workshops around nutrition and healthy relationship-building.
Capoeira
Capoeira is an exclusive Boys & Girls Club of Newark program. Taught by a professional instructor, teens learn the ancient Brazilian martial arts form that combines acrobatics and dance, and develops strength agility and balance. And it’s fun!
Good Character
It’s important for teens to develop a sense of belonging to a larger community, become civic-minded, and capable of navigating issues they see within their community. Character-building activities help them to persevere in the face of odds and build their leadership capacity.
Keystone Club
Keystone Club is primarily a community-service program during which teens visit old age homes, volunteer at community clean-up projects, help their younger peers with their academics, and more.
Lyricism 101
This program gives Club members a chance to explore musical and poetic storytelling. We give teens an opportunity to tell their stories, build community, and express their artistic vision through hip-hop culture.
Stand & Deliver
Voicing opinions and being able to represent one's community are important leadership skills that we cultivate among our teens by training them to become effective public speakers.
Academic Success
More than half of the achievement gap between lower and higher-income children can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. We’re committed to ensuring that Newark’s children have access to programs that prevent summer learning loss.
Brain Gain
The children enrolled in our summer camp complete week-long group projects that give them a chance to explore topics ranging from dinosaurs to social justice — all while furthering their reading, math, and creative expression skills.
STEM
Our STEM program is designed to challenge children to explore and engage with STEM technology such as robotics, cardboard construction, and video games that build their spatial recognition skills.
Healthy Lifestyles
Summer is a great time to get children to become physically active. That’s why we dedicate much of the day to sports, dance, swimming, and outdoor activities.
Triple Play
Through activities including basketball, football, swimming, dance, and free play we engage children in team activities that also increase their endurance, strength, and confidence.
LifeCamp
In Newark, children don’t always have the opportunity to discover the wonders of the great outdoors. As part of our summer program, every child experiences a weeklong outdoor camp, LifeCamp, where they connect with nature.
