Boys & Girls Club of Hancock County

BGCHC depends upon private contributions for nearly 60% of our annual operating budget. Garnering consistent annual support is crucial to our ability to continue to meet the evolving educational, social and emotional needs of the 4,000 youth whom we serve. To learn more about how you can help in the life of a child, click on the links below.

Recently, 52% of Boys & Girls Clubs of America alumni reported that participating in the Club "saved my life." Yet, providing life-changing programs for more than 13,000 young people in Boston and Chelsea bears a significant, annual cost.

Each year, Boys & Girls Clubs of Hancock County must raise nearly 60% of our operating budget from charitable gifts. Gifts to our Annual Fund help us provide a safe haven and fun, high-impact programming for at-risk children and teens across the county. Especially with violence on the rise in many of the neighborhoods we serve, your support means that we can be there for those youth who need us most. Please help ensure our ability to save lives by giving a gift to our Operating Campaign. Your investment will have lasting impacts on the youth of Hancock County.

Gifts of $50 and above are recognized with membership in one of BGCHC's Recognition Societies.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Hancock County could not inspire over 4,000 young people without the generous support of our donors. Charitable giving is our largest source of revenue and allows BGCHC to keep our programs affordable and accessible to the boys and girls who need us. We are so grateful to you for investing in the youth of Hancock County.

Legacy Society:

Bronze Circle

Silver Circle

Gold Circle

$5,000 - $9,999

$10,000 - $24,999

$25,000 - $49,999

Keystone Society:

Bronze Circle

Silver Circle

Gold Circle

$500 - $999

$1,000 - $2,499

$2,500 - $4,999

Torch Society:

Bronze Circle

Silver Circle

Gold Circle

$50 - $99

$100 - $249

$250 - $499

For more information on the Operating Campaign, contact the Administrative Office at 317-462-3704.

For almost three-quarters of a century, BGCHC has guided the intellectual, emotional and social development of young people in Hancock County. Your gift can support our targeted efforts in any of five core program areas: education (including technology), arts and culture, leadership, life skills, and sports, fitness and recreation.

As part of the “Friends” program, we are seeking investments in all core program areas, as well as our special events.

At the same time, we must be intentional in our outreach efforts to ensure that youth who have the fewest opportunities available to them have access to the Clubs. We need to educate families, grandparents raising grandchildren, and others who are new to our neighborhoods about the opportunities that exist for their children at the Clubs, and the resources available for high-risk youth and their families. We must work to alleviate concerns about safety and/or cost, and facilitate engagement.

A specific goal of the “Friends” program is to secure multi-year gifts to ensure yearly sustainability of our programs. Donors may choose to designate their gift to support a specific program or event by allowing the staff and Board to apply the funds where they are needed most. A couple of examples of gifts that could be designated to support specific program areas:

BGCHC’s five core programs work in concert to improve the cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and moral development of young people. While each focuses on specific skills, it is the wide range of developmental opportunities and experiences, with the guidance of caring, competent adults, in a safe and challenging environment that makes the Club experience unique and so effective.

We believe that all children can succeed academically and grow to be healthy, productive adults if given sufficient support and opportunity to learn. BGCHC’s education activities reinforce and enhance the skills and knowledge that young people gain at school. All members have the opportunity to receive homework help from a tutor.

The primary goal of BGCHC’s technology program is to enable members to become “fluent” in the use of technology. Technology is incorporated in the Clubs’ learning center, the Club (teen center) as well as in the technology center.

Each Club has space for visual, performing and music arts where children are encouraged to express themselves, develop new skills and talents, and expand their individual creativity. BGCHC’s goal is to ensure that every member is exposed to, and has the opportunity to engage in, a wide variety of arts-based activities from music and dance, to visual arts and creative writing.

BGCHC helps members develop healthy habits and social skills through participation in daily activities in our gyms, social recreation areas and outdoor play spaces. Building on a program of traditional sports activities, BGCHC now integrates activities such as golf, tennis and other individual activities. Youth gain skills and build confidence to take on new challenges.

BGCHC leadership programs allow members to practice and improve their decision-making skills. The nationally chartered Torch Club (for youth ages 8 to 12) and Keystone Club (for teens ages 13 to 18) are complemented by specialized programs developed by the Clubs to support specific membership needs.

BGCHC helps members develop healthy self-esteem, resilience, motivation and the ability to make good choices. Our full-time, licensed, Club-based professionals perform targeted prevention and intervention work in the areas of violence prevention, gang prevention, substance abuse prevention, conflict resolution, and crisis intervention. They also work to help Club members access the existing resources within their own neighborhoods.