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Serving Albany & Rensselaer Counties
PROGRAMS
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area (BGCCA) provides services and programs to help young people make positive life choices. From education and career programs to health and life skills, our staff and volunteers help inspire youth by providing an opportunity to belong, succeed and serve their community.
Our primary youth services are Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK), After School, Summer Camp and Teen programming.
Programs by Focus
Five Core Areas of Focus
BGCCA programs help young people develop self-confidence and self-esteem and all of our programming focuses on the 5 Core Areas established by Boys & Girls Clubs of America: Career & Education, Character & Leadership, Health & Life Skills, Sports & Recreation, and The Arts. We've added Food Access as another priority.
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Career & Education
Career & Education programs focus on three approaches: academic enrichment and school engagement; targeted dropout prevention; and intensive intervention and case management. Our aim is to ensure that all Club members graduate from high school on time, ready for a post-secondary education or workforce placement.
Character & Leadership
Character & Leadership programs are built around helping youth establish necessary skills to become responsible and caring citizens. Participants also develop leadership and decision making skills to help them achieve a great future.
Passport to Manhood
This program engages young boys in discussions and activities that reinforce character, leadership and positive behavior.
Youth Of
The Year
Fostering a generation of leaders, fully prepared for the workplace with leadership skills, goal-setting and teamwork.
Torch Club
Meeting character development needs of younger adolescents through: service, community, education, & health.
Keystone Club
The Keystone Club for young people ages 14 to 18 focus on: academic success, career prep and community service.
Food Access
BGCCA prioritizes food access for community youth by operating a commercial-grade kitchen providing more than 200,000 meals annually to our youth and other organizations in the Capital Area. We also operate a complete hydroponic farm located inside of a shipping container.
Health & Life Skills
Health & Life Skills programs develop young people’s capacity to engage in positive behaviors that nurture their own well-being, set personal goals and live successfully as self-sufficient adults.
Healthy Habits
The program is designed for ages 6 to 15 to incorporate healthy living and active learning. Healthy Habits emphasizes good nutrition, regular physical activity and improving overall well-being.
Smart Moves
Young people ages 6-15 engage in discussion and role-playing, practicing resilience and refusal skills, strengthening decision-making skills and analyzing media and peer influence.
Sports & Recreation
Sports & Rec programs help develop physical fitness routines, a positive use of leisure time, reduction of stress, and social and interpersonal skills.
The Arts
Arts programs are designed to foster creativity and give outlets for self-expression. From photography to hip-hop, our arts programs have something that will inspire everyone.
