A unique Approach to Helping Children
One of our key strengths in working with young people is our approach. Boys and Girls Clubs focus on the positive potential of every child because – we believe in kids! We understand the fundamental importance of nurturing young people’s self-esteem by engaging them in activities that challenge and enrich their minds, bodies and spirits.

With this approach, Boys and Girls Clubs tackle a broad range of critical problems facing young people in our society today, including substance abuse, teen pregnancy, juvenile delinquency and crime, youth unemployment and child poverty.

A Safe, Enriching and Fun Place to Go When School is Out
Our clubs offer children, ages 5 – 18, a safe place to channel their energies into positive, challenging activities that encourage personal growth, learning, community involvement and healthy living.

Clubs are open weekdays after school, many are open weekday evenings and some are open on weekends, when kids have free time and are most vulnerable.

We Instill Values
Our organization holds strong core values, which guide us in our work with children and youth and teach our kids the importance of mutual respect, teamwork and being socially responsible.

Available and affordable to all Children
Our club programs are accessible and affordable to all children. Membership fees are low and are waived for children in need. Our clubs provide services to young people and families in high-need communities where many children are considered to be "at-risk".

Connected to Community Needs
Being rooted in local communities, our clubs have extensive experience in mobilizing their resources to create programs for children and teens that address the unique needs of each community. This approach helps strengthen individual communities across Canada, so that they will be better places to live for all children and youth.

Professional Staff and Dedicated Volunteers
Boys and Girls Clubs throughout Canada are managed by experienced career professionals trained in youth development. Over 13,000 volunteers nationwide assist club staff in providing positive role models for our young people.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada is part of a global affiliation of Boys and Girls Clubs. The first established Boys Clubs originated in the eastern United States in the late 1860s. At the same time, a similar movement was beginning in Great Britain. The first recognized use of the name “Boys’ Club” was in New Haven, Connecticut and was used to identify a reading room and coffee shop.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada’s proud heritage of service to young Canadians has its roots in Saint John, New Brunswick, where in 1900 a group of concerned local citizens set up a "public playground movement" to provide a safe place to play for children - particularly boys - from disadvantaged circumstances, with no place to go after school but the streets. The "Every Day Club", originally established as a winter location for the Playground Association, later became known as the East End Boys’ Club. The East End Boys Club of Saint John resulted from this initiative, becoming the first “Boys Club” in Canada. The Club’s original mission was “to give youth a chance to have some recreation and to see beyond the confines of their immediate situation.”

Since those days, “Boys Clubs” have become "Boys and Girls" Clubs and have spread across the country, as a result of grassroots initiatives similar to the one in Saint John. The national organization was established in 1929 by Vernon McAdam, our first National Executive Director, and in 1948 received its official charter as a national, non-profit organization from parliament as the Boys' Clubs of Canada. In 1974, the name changed to Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to reflect the fact that services were also accessible to a growing number of young girls who had been participating in club programs for many years.

Throughout our over one hundred year history, Boys and Girls Clubs in Canada have provided safe, caring environments and stimulating programs enabling some 3 million young Canadians to play, learn and develop skills to help them achieve their full potential as contributing adults, citizens and leaders.

Today, the need is still great for the vital educational, recreational and skills development programs and services Boys and Girls Clubs offer in communities nationwide. In large city centres, remote rural communities and on First Nations reserves, Boys and Girls Clubs continue to help guide young Canadians toward responsible, fulfilling and productive adulthood. Clubs establish programs that reach out to young people, particularly those living in disadvantaged communities, in such non-traditional settings as shopping malls, schools, homeless shelters, group homes and on the streets. The ability of clubs to mobilize resources in response to the individual needs of the children in each community is one of our organization’s key strengths.

Young people are our most precious natural resource. Today, Boys and Girls Clubs are dedicated to ensuring that they are given every opportunity to develop their fullest potential, so that they can meet the challenges of leading and building this country in the 21st century.