The Boys and Girls Club is a wonderful success story.  It provides a great place for kids to go after school, where they have fun and learn in many areas.  It’s stated mission is “To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.”

Across the country there are more than 1,000 Boys and Girls Clubs with more than one million member kids.  Texas has 71 clubs with over 120,000 members.  The Boys and Girls Club of Brown County opened on June 19, 1995, and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this week.

Director Katherine Palmer said “Our goal is to provide a place for Brown County youth, a safe space outside of school hours to provide programming that focuses on teaching or building life skills, and to do that at a reasonable cost.”

Katherine Palmer has been the Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Brown County since April 2019.  A native of Mesquite, Texas, Palmer came to Brownwood in 2006 to attend Howard Payne University, where she received a degree in Social Work.  After spending a few years in the health care field, she took the Boys and Girls club job six years ago.  In that time the average daily attendance at the club has increased from 75 in 2019 to 106 currently.  There are also 140 children enrolled in this year’s summer program.

Here’s how the club works.  During the school year, member kids come to the Club after school, from 3:30 – 6:30 p.m.  Some are delivered by family members, some ride to the Club by Brownwood ISD buses.  They can then be picked up by their parents or other family members after they get off work.  The Club costs only $30 per month, and scholarships are also available.  The Club can take kids from the ages of 6 through 15, and also has other programs for students up to the age of 18.

Upon arrival the kids are provided a free snack that meets USDA nutritional guidelines, and then attend a 4:00 p.m. Assembly with the Program Director, Mr. Keyonce Lucas.  Then the kids can choose from a number of activity options, three a day, 40 minutes each.  The options include:

Computer Lab This activity is for all age kids.  It involves mouse and keyboard skills, and instruction in internet browsers and internet safety (including understanding external internet threats, and how to keep information private).

Tutoring Room Here staff, typically college students from Howard Payne, help the kids with their homework and other school lessons.

Teen Room This is for Middle Schoolers, where they work on their own projects on computer, or in arts and crafts.

Teaching Kitchen Here the kids learn how to cook, while also learning about food safety and keeping hands clean.  They also learn about healthy nutritional habits.  It is a popular activity for both girls and boys.

Game Room The game room has ping-pong and pool tables, foosball, air hockey, and a Lego table.  Snacks are available.

Gym In Gym the kids can play basketball and soccer.  They also play a game called Gaga Ball, which kids of all ages can play, and athletic skill is not required.

Arts and Crafts Here the kids can do paintings, sketches, air-dry clay, and work with textiles.

Games and Puzzles This has board games, jig-saw puzzles, logic puzzles, etc.

These activities at the Boys and Girls Club help the member kids with improved lifestyles and academics.  “Kids that attend Boys and Girls Club through High School are better prepared to enter the workforce, and better prepared for college, and have better health outcomes,” said Palmer.

The Boys and Girls club surveys to find out what teens are looking for that is not being furnished in Brown County.  For instance, the Club has a Teen Night on Saturday nights, from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.  It’s a place for teens to be on Saturday night, with adult supervision.  The Teen Night includes a meal, games, and arts-and-crafts.  “We are also starting an e-sports program, and hope to turn it into a competitive team,” said Palmer.

There are other programs available too.  Financial Literacy is for Middle and High School students.  It teaches about how paychecks work, payroll deductions, health insurance, different types of bank accounts, the difference between debit and credit cards, personal loans, payday loans, student loans, pawn shops, etc.  Also there is a Healthy Relationships class.  It deals with “how you interact with other people, including dating,” according to Palmer.  “It includes healthy boundary settings, what is appropriate and inappropriate.  The purpose of these programs is to help mitigate some risk factors that our kids have.  We want the kids to graduate from school before they become parents.”

The low-cost dues provide only about 9% of the Club’s budget.  The majority of their revenues comes from fundraising events, like the annual Barn Dance, that has been held for many years.  Sixteen percent of revenues comes from donations from foundations and charities, 8% from government funding, 5% from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and 4% from individual donations.  But the economic impact is tremendous.  According to Boys and Girls Clubs of Texas, every one dollar invested in a Boys and Girls Club returns $12.26 in economic benefits to Club members, their families, and their communities.  Palmer points out that families who are able to have their kids in the Boys and Girls Club have the opportunity for greater family incomes, as well as increased future earnings for the boys and girls in the Club.

The Boys and Girls Club of Brown County is a positive for both the kids and the County.  “All of those things play into positive outcomes for our community,” said Palmer.  “If you invest in our club, you are investing in the community.”

The Boys and Girls Club is located at 1701 Ave. L. For more information call 325-641-2582.