Photo caption: CLUB ONE MEMBERS have a ball during activity time. (Photo by Brigid Gallagher)
Union League Boys & Girls Clubs (ULBGC), which has been serving youth in neighborhoods with the highest hardship index in Chicago for over 100 years, proudly announces the opening of three new school site Clubs: at the Erie Elementary Charter School in Humboldt Park, Joseph Kellman Corporate Community Elementary School in Homan Square, and Leif Ericson Elementary Scholastic Academy in West Garfield Park. With the addition of this trio of Clubs on the West Side, the total number of well-equipped and professionally staffed inner-city Clubs operated by Union League Boys & Girls Clubs totals 19.
“Our Clubs offer youth a safe space to do homework and engage in sports and other play, all under the guidance and mentorship of our incredibly dedicated staff. And now, thanks to a Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Program grant, we are able to open three more Clubs and provide these opportunities to hundreds more youth on the West Side; changing lives, one child at a time,” said Mary Ann Mahon Huels, President & CEO of Union League Boys & Girls Clubs.
And as Union League Boys & Girls Clubs continues to expand its footprint of Chicago Club locations, its current Club efforts have been recognized. Based on comprehensive surveying throughout the national BGCA membership, Union League Boys & Girls Clubs placed in the Top 10 nationally for providing the Optimal Club Experience, in addition to ranking No. 1 among Illinois Clubs for Average Daily Attendance and No. 1 Nationally for the number of Registered Teens.
Since its founding on December 26, 1919, as a foundation of the Union League Club of Chicago, Union League Boys & Girls Clubs have been providing quality programming centered on academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles.
Today, Union League Boys & Girls Clubs serve over 15,000 youth members at 21 well-equipped and professionally staffed inner-city Clubs, which bring effective after-school programming to youth in the Humboldt Park, Pilsen, Englewood, West Town, South Lawndale, West Garfield Park, Back of the Yards, Archer Heights, Homan Square and Little Village communities, as well as to youth in the Juvenile Detention Center and at an overnight camp in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.
The national Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Program supports the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools. The program helps students meet state and local academic standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math; offers students a broad array of enrichment activities that can complement their regular academic programs; and offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children.
For more information on Union League Boys & Girls Clubs and its ongoing support of Chicago’s youth, visit www.ulbgc.org.
