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.