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.

March 24, 2022 – Earlier this week, the Quebec Provincial Government released their Budget for 2022-2023. BGC Canada applauds the significant budget investments in support of community organizations. Funding will allow community organizations to better support children, youth and their families.

The budget, released by Quebec Minister of Finance Eric Girard, provides additional investments totalling more than $22B over the next five years including:

• Strengthening Community Action: $888.1M to enhance and expand support for the overall mission of community organizations including help to cover the cost of the organizations’ operations, such as salaries, capital expenditures and telecommunications costs (an increase of almost 30%).
  • $834.2M to increase funding for existing organizations;
  • $53.9M to fund new organizations.
  • $65M to increase funding for youth employment centres
• Supporting Communities: $1.1B to enhance support for various communities, including:
  • $108.9M to improve assistance and services for families and youth.
  • $285M to continue support for Indigenous communities
  • $9.8M to support English-speaking communities, in particular by enhancing current programs and supporting new community organizations.
• Supporting Young People: $34.4M over five years, which includes:
  • $5M to support improvements for youth infrastructure, such as youth centres
• Improving Assistance and Services for Families and Youth: $255.8M in 2022-2023 to:
  • $168.7M to provide support to families with special needs and improve services.
  • $34.4M to support young people.
  • $52.7 million to improve the quality of the educational childcare services network. This includes funds to renew certain measures of the strategy for children aged 0 to 8 aimed at promoting the development of children in the educational childcare services network
• Improving Services for Vulnerable Persons: $508.5M to enhance local services for youth in need and strengthening mental health initiatives, based on the recommendations from the report from the Special Commission on the Rights of the Child and Youth Protection
• Investing in Education: $2.8B to improve access to and graduation from higher education
  • $75 million by 2026-2027 to support the integration of trainees into the health and social services sector, including those in mental health and youth protection.
• Coping with the rising cost of living: $3.2B to provide a one-time cost of living support payment ($500) to adults with an income less than $100k.

July 13, 2020

Dear Prime Minister and Premiers,

As Canada’s largest child and youth serving organization, Boys and Girls Clubs from coast to coast to coast know the importance that school plays in our society. Continued school closures have been, and will be, disproportionately felt by children already facing intersecting and systemic barriers—children from low-income families, children who don’t speak English or French as a first language, racialized communities who’ve already felt the worst of COVID-19, children with special needs, and children without access to technology or the internet. These are the young people our Clubs serve across the country during out-of-school hours. Yet we know there can’t be out-of-school time without kids being in school.

We are calling on all levels of governments to work boldly and creatively to maximize in-school education this fall.

 As you know, having children out of school exacerbates existing systemic issues, including:

• Mental health and social isolation: Over the last four months as school were closed, children and youth had very limited interactions with teachers, mentors, and classmates. This isolation is already having significant negative consequences. Kids Help Phone has seen a 55% increase in conversations about isolation, a 49% increase in conversations about anxiety and stress, a 47% increase in conversations about substance abuse, and a 23% increase in conversations about self-harm. Parents are also concerned about their children—a recent Statistics Canada survey on parenting during the pandemic found that almost three-quarters of participants were concerned about their children’s opportunities to socialize with friends, and more than half were concerned about their children’s loneliness and social isolation.
• Abuse: Home isolation has left many children and youth trapped in abusive settings and isolated from caring adults working in schools and programs that can identify this abuse and alert authorities. As stress and tension in families rise, so does abuse. Kids Help Phone has seen a 33% increase in conversations about emotional abuse since COVID-19 began, a 34% increase in conversations about physical abuse, and a 31% increase in conversations about sexual abuse.
• Food insecurity: Many children and youth across the country no longer have access to healthy meals and snacks, as food security programs run at schools and out-of-school programs are either no longer operating or doing so at greatly reduced capacity, leaving many families food insecure.
• Summer learning loss: During normal summers, when kids are out of school, students lose one month of learning on average. Children from low-income families, however, experience higher rates of learning loss. During the school year, all students have access to libraries, teachers, resources, and guidance counsellors, which is what makes public education “the great equalizer”—but with kids now in a prolonged absence from school, those that don’t have access to tutoring or additional programs end up falling further behind. Approximately 40% of parents are concerned about the school year and their child’s academic success during the pandemic. The longer schools are out, the greater the learning loss for marginalized children and youth.
• Limited childcare options: Access to high-quality, affordable, and safe care was a challenge for families prior to COVID-19 and has been exacerbated by the pandemic. With ongoing physical distancing restrictions, childcare centres can serve far less children than usual, yet the demand for their services is growing and will rise further in September. Asking childcare centres to additionally serve school-aged children during days when they are not in school is less than optimal for learning and will further put financial pressure on families. Our expertise tells us that vulnerable families will be the hardest hit by a shortage of child care. They will have to make the choice between not returning to work so that they can look after their children, or leaving their children in the care of untrained neighbours, family, or friends.

Finally, as a result of the pandemic, provinces and territories across Canada have seen rapid and massive disruptions to their labour markets. As restrictions are carefully lifted and Canada’s economy begins to re-open, many parents can return to work. However, a partial return to in-person schooling in September will create hard choices and negative impacts on these parents, particularly working mothers, which will set back hard won women’s equality by years. Children can’t be left at home alone, which will force those who can’t afford alternative childcare arrangements to drop out of the work force. A loss of income will overwhelm many families, especially single parents and those already struggling to make ends meet.

Our inability to reopen schools will push families into poverty, slow economic recovery, increase demand on government assistance, and deepen inequality. We must make the safe return to school the political priority.

Our goal should be kids safely in school five days a week with available out-of-school programs. Our Clubs believe that a re-opening of the economy without re-opening child care and schools doesn’t reflect the values of Canadians. Yes, there will be challenges and setbacks, but prioritizing the safe re-opening of schools and child care means we are prioritizing vulnerable and at-risk children—and this is a true reflection of our country’s values.

Boys and Girls Clubs would be pleased to connect with governments, experts, and other stakeholders to discuss how we can to support this shift in priority. Opening schools and child care won’t be easy, but it is crucial for kids, parents, and the economy.

Sincerely,

Owen Charters
President & CEO
Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada