Helping Hands: Boys & Girls Club of Greater KC Changes Lives

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City Changes Lives

Written by Sharon Cleaver

Photography by Dee Moore

Courtney started attending the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City when she was in the eighth grade. Since then, she has blossomed into an outstanding leader and an example of success. But Courtney’s story did not start out that way. At the age of one, Courtney was severely burned over more than 60 percent of her body in a kitchen accident. This accident resulted in a series of financially draining hospital bills and many years of rehabilitation.

After years of struggle, Courtney’s family lost their home and found themselves living in a homeless shelter. Shelter life for Courtney was hard. She became shy and withdrawn and her grades in school began to suffer.

Courtney soon found refuge at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City. The Unit Director of her Club discovered Courtney’s family situation and did everything he could to help. He helped the family find a stable home and employment for Courtney’s mother.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City traces its history to 1912 when Judge E.F. Porterfield’s group, Juvenile Improvement Club, raised $60,000 to open the Boys Hotel. The hotel later became a Boys Club to help serve the needs and shape the futures of boys in Kansas City. In 1976, girls were admitted into membership.

Fast forward more than 100 years from its inception, and today the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City serves more than 1,200 youth daily at six local Unit locations. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City’s mission is to promote the development of self-esteem, values and skills for boys and girls, ages 5 to 18, with special emphasis on youth from disadvantaged circumstances.

Youth development programs and services are provided to youth every day before school (where available), after school and on most school-out days. The youth development programming provided daily at the Clubs falls into one of four core program areas: education and career development, public speaking and leadership, health and life skills and technology.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City has six Unit locations throughout the metropolitan area: two locations in Kansas City, Missouri, two in Independence, Missouri, one in Olathe, Kansas, and one in Kansas City, Kansas. Each location includes a game room, computer lab, full-size gymnasium and a full-size kitchen to provide healthy meals to Club members. The cost for a school-year membership to any of these six locations is only $15.

Five years have passed since Courtney first started going to the Clubs. Courtney’s family is in a house that they love. She is no longer a shy kid and it is because Boys & Girls Club programs laid the foundation for her to have a successful future. This year, Courtney graduated from high school and in the fall she will attend Stephens College to pursue a degree in early childhood development. HLM

To donate, volunteer or for more information about the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, visit helpkckids.org or call 816-361-3600.