Boys & Girls Clubs Lose Funding for Afterschool Programs and Summer Camps

U.S. Department of Education cuts are impacting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin in Northern California, organization COO Michelle Heery tells the Petaluma Argus-Courier. Funding for its arts programming will not be renewed due to cuts to a federal grant and other funding cuts will impact the organization’s ability to operate more than 40 club programs that serve over 11,000 children a year.

Those funds are specifically earmarked for before school, after school and summer programs. “They create opportunities for kids to have enriching, life-changing programs every single day,” Heery said. “Through those proposed cuts, we will lose after school and summer camp spaces for kids who might not have the ability to pay.”

Boys & Girls Clubs has around 385 staff members, and 65 of them are paid through the threatened “21st Century” funds. “We will do everything we can to keep our programs whole to make sure kids can come and that our folks can continue to come to work,” Heery said. …

The group still needs volunteers who like working with kids or playing sports, and there are opportunities to get involved that way too. They also need volunteers to help kids with reading and other scholastic help, organizers said.