The Boys & Girls Club of New Haven is a leading provider
of effective, positive youth development programming. Utilizing proven, effective
curricula developed by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and enriched by
community resources and talent, Members of the Club, ages 5 to 17, work with
staff toward achieving goals in Character and Leadership Development, Education
and Career Development, Health and Life Skills, The Arts, and Fitness &
Recreation.
We are excited to have entered into partnership with the New
Haven Police Department’s Police Activities League (P.A.L.). This partnership
will enable both Boys and Girls Club of New Haven (BGCNH) and P.A.L. to further
our respective missions while working collectively to impact more youth in our
community.
Our mutual commitment is to
inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to
realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.
The PAL office and two PAL Officers have relocated to the
BGCNH by special request of the Chief of Police, and the program is now in
residence at the Club. PAL responds to the needs of youth in many neighborhoods
through after school, weekend and special summer events. It is an expanded
Police Athletic League program that now includes more youth and encompasses a
wider variety of activities and special events.
With volunteer coaches, PAL sponsors basketball leagues,
judo classes, a street hockey league, a chess club, track and field clinics, girls'
volleyball, flag football, and karate instruction. Special events include essay
contests, Young Eagles Day with a local pilots association, an olympic style
statewide track and field competition and others. Summer programs included flag
football, street hockey, boys and girls basketball and cheerleading.
Our partnership with
the Police Activities League (P.A.L.) has also brought the issue of youth gang prevention
into focus for BGCNH and we are looking to work with PAL in collaborating with
community agencies and youth serving organizations to offer healthy, positive
alternatives for youth;
particularly
those who need us most.
Boys and Girls Club of New Haven was recently awarded a
grant from Boys and Girls Clubs of America to implement an outreach effort designed
to prevent youth from becoming involved in gangs.
Boys and Girls Club of America’s Gang Prevention through
Targeted Outreach (GPTTO) initiative, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), is a successful strategy designed to
prevent youth from becoming involved in gangs. This initiative supports the
aggressive recruitment of young people most at risk of gang involvement,
mainstreaming them into quality, life-sustaining Club programs, community
services and providing mentorship. The mission, goals, and program focus areas
of PAL are complimentary with those of the Boys & Girls Club of New Haven
and we look forward to a very successful partnership.
For more information on P.A.L and Boys & Girls Club of
New Haven programs, please contact us at 787-0187 or email us at kidscomefirst@bgcnewhaven.org.