By Owen Charters, President & CEO, BGC Canada

November 18, 2024

We don’t have to want to get down on the floor and play mini-stick hockey to love kids – and you don’t need to provide shoulder rides for photos. You just have to believe in their possibilities and want to give them their opportunities.

For some reason, the debate about kids – whether we like them, want them, and what we’re supposed to ‘feel’ if we’re a parent are all over the media right now.

Debates about parenting – do you have to like being a parent to be a parent? Do you even need to like kids to be a parent?

My friend from university, who swore she didn’t like kids – ended up as a teacher, and then had three kids of her own that she adores. And my childless friends who love kids, work with kids, and are basically surrogate parents to many kids.

Yet within our Club world, there are so many versions of why we want to work with kids, or at least, for kids.

I have always loved working with kids – trying to figure them out, what makes each one tick, and cherishing the good and the bad ones. (Badly behaved, that is – I really don’t believe there are bad kids.)

Related: BGC Clubs are a modern solution to help parents

A few Club staff have been surprised when I got down on the ground to interact with Club kids, had them climb on me for a photo, engage in a conversation or exchange silly jokes.

Whatever our motivations are for working for kids, it is the spark of joy in their eyes that I believe we each live for, the opening up of ideas, options, and possibilities for them. That’s not just our responsibility as parents, but as Clubs.

BGC Clubs provide opportunities that set young people up for success

• 95% of Club kids have more people they like to spend time with. 
• 92% of Club kids are better at helping out when it is needed. 
• 91% of Club kids are more excited to try new things. 
• 91% of Club kids are more confident in their abilities. 
• 90% of Club kids feel more comfortable being themselves. 
• 90% of Club kids are more aware of the feelings of others. 
• 90% of Club kids are more physically active. 
• 90% of Club kids work better with others. 

We don’t have to want to get down on the floor and play mini-stick hockey to love kids – and you don’t need to provide shoulder rides for photos. You just have to believe in their possibilities and want to give them opportunities. 

By Owen Charters, President & CEO, BGC Canada

December 8, 2023

Positive effects start even after a few visits, but after 150 visits Clubs have significant impact on the lives of children and youth.

In January 2020, I visited BGC Winnipeg as they released a much-anticipated study delving into Club impact.

About the Winnipeg study

Conducted by the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy at the University of Manitoba, researchers looked at 12 years of data. They studied 8,990 children and youth who participated in the programs of the BGC Winnipeg, as compared to 69,980 children and youth who lived in the same postal codes and encountered similar life events and demographics—but did not participate at the Club.

The Winnipeg study examined education, social (justice), and health outcomes. The first thing to note is who goes to the Club. The data shows these kids experience more adverse life events and experiences than most of the population, at a very significant rate.

• About 44% had a mom who was a teenager when she had her first baby, compared to the Manitoba provincial average of 6%.

• Almost 49% had a mom who had seen a doctor for a mood or anxiety disorder vs the provincial average of 20%.

• Nearly 49% were from families who had received services from Child and Family Services vs the provincial average of 9%, and 20% were from families who had previously had a child taken into care of Child and Family Services vs the provincial average of 4%.

• 55% were in the lowest quintile for family income in the province.

You can find a summary of the full report here.

Let’s look at what happens when these children and youth attend the Club. First, the optimal Club experience happens around 150 visits, or less than one school year of attending the Club almost daily. Positive impacts start even after a few visits, but at 150 visits and more, the positive effects impact attendees significantly.

• Education: Club kids demonstrated that they were performing academically at the expected average for their grade. 
• Health: The more a young person participated in the Clubs, the lower their risk of having a teen pregnancy or getting a sexually transmitted infection.
• Justice System: The more a young person participated in the Clubs, the lower their risk of becoming involved with the justice system. 

BGC Club impact today 

BGC Canada launched the Learning and Impact Project in 2022 to prove and improve the impact of Clubs. The project includes an annual deployment of a national outcomes survey and deep-dive interviews with members to explore the impact of Clubs in four key areas: positive relationships, lifelong learning, healthy living, and leadership skills. The participation from Clubs has been astounding and the study is already one of the largest of its kind in Canada.

In the first two years of the Learning & Impact Project, Clubs have already surveyed 12,570 children and youth. The quantitative data show that youth are more confident and resilient, and make better choices because of a Club.

• 96% of kids say they have more people they like to spend time with because of a Club

• 92% of kids say they are more excited to try new things because of a Club

• 91% of kids say they are more accepting of others because of a Club

• 90% of kids say they are a more positive influence on others because of a Club

• 91% of kids say they are more physically active because of a Club

• 90% of kids say they make better choices because of a Club

• 91% of kids say they are more confident in their abilities because of a Club

• 94% of kids say they take more initiative because of a Club

(Source: 2023 BGC Member Survey Results)

Learn more about our national outcomes survey results here.

So far, 858 members from 32 BGC Clubs have been interviewed. Here’s what Club kids told us:

These are kids who need the Club, there’s no doubt. 

The qualitative portion of the project is also giving us insight into how the approach of Clubs is creating impact. Members told us that it’s through opportunities to explore new things, the safe and welcoming environment of Clubs, and the relationships with staff and other kids that are making the difference.

You can find a summary of the key data here.

This data is important. It underlines what we already know from anecdotal outcomes – the work of Clubs changes lives. In my remarks in Winnipeg, I noted that we rely a lot on the stories of how Clubs have impacted the children and youth served. And we always will. With this work, we also have the proof—both quantitative and qualitative—of the impact of Clubs on the lives of children and youth.

It’s time to share our stories and the invaluable proof that BGC Clubs make a difference—that opportunity changes everything.

By Owen Charters, President & CEO, BGC Canada

November 14, 2023

During our recent Day on the Hill in Ottawa, we met with a number of federal government officials. The purpose of these meetings was to emphasize our 2024 pre-budget submission, where we’re calling on all parties to recognize the importance of after-school time and to ensure that all youth have the supports they need to thrive in this era of increasing uncertainty.

How do BGC Clubs stand out?

One of the important distinctions about what BGC Clubs do is spend quality AND quantity time with children and youth. Parents who think that they can get away with just spending quality time with their kids quickly find out that this approach doesn’t work—kids don’t work on your schedule. They need to spend lots of time with you, and moments in those periods can become significant, but you can’t create quality through an appointment!

Kids spend hours in Clubs every day. They are not periodic or incidental—these experiences are consistent, daily engagements for significant periods—where Club programs, staff and volunteers can have a major influence on the lives of young people. Because of this, our Clubs play an outsized role in the lives of the young people who enter our doors, and that influence is critical in offering kids the tools, skills, and experiences to take advantage of the opportunities that life will offer them academically, economically, and socially.

Youth needs are changing

In recent years, youth needs have changed dramatically, and Clubs have grown with them. Instead of just a quick after-school snack, Clubs now provide nearly six million meals per year – in too many cases, the only meal of the day. On top of recreation and sports programs, we offer mental health support and increasingly direct access to therapists. And where Clubs were founded to provide a safe space for youth outside of school hours, some Clubs even provide youth housing.

Why is after-school care so hard to access?

We did a recent study with Abacus Data and found that at least one third of Canadian families don’t have access to before and after-school care. Our Clubs are often located in communities that are disproportionately impacted by poverty – and while we do offer programming for free or at greatly reduced rates, our own staff capacity challenges are meaning that we have fewer spaces to offer. Add to that the impact of inflation and cost-of-living increases, families are finding it harder to pay for groceries let alone out-of-school care.

Every parent wants the best possible opportunities for their children. And they struggle with being
present for their kids while balancing the needs of jobs, careers, and the many demands of life. The
patchwork of services that fill the out-of-school space is entirely difficult to navigate – each parent
hopes they are offering the best they can, but worries that it’s not enough, it’s not the right thing, and
that things could change at any time – prices increase, programs close, wait lists are long, or their child
doesn’t have access to a walkable after-school provider.

A more comprehensive approach to out-of-school time is vital. Our ask to government was a foot in the door, a chance to express that more families and communities need BGC Clubs’ out of school services.