Healthy Lifestyles
To promote healthy lifestyles, members at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plain learn positive behaviors and how to resist peer pressure in order to nurture their own well-being and help them become successful adults. They also learn how to set and achieve personal goals, and how to live successfully as an adult.
SMART Moves (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training)
Developing a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle starts at a young age. The SMART programs help our members resist alcohol, tobacco, drug use, and premature sexual activity. Based on proven teaching techniques, the program strives to increase peer support, enhance life skills, build resiliency and strengthen leadership skills. The SMART programs include SMART Kids for ages 6–9, Start SMART for ages 10–12, Stay SMART for ages 13–15 and SMART Parents. The ultimate goal is to promote responsible behavior.
Street Smart
BGCA’s gang and violence prevention curriculum, Street SMART, offers expanded lessons in bullying prevention, as well as an emphasis on resiliency training to give Club members, ages 10–14, the skills they need to grow up confident, caring and responsible.
Triple Play
The Triple Play program is a comprehensive strategy that nurtures the minds, bodies and souls of our members. The goal of the program is to improve Club members’ knowledge of healthy habits, good nutrition and physical fitness; increase the number of hours per day they participate in physical activities; and strengthen their ability to interact positively with others and engage in healthy relationships.
SMART Girls
Adolescent girls in our society face a multitude of temptations and unique problems that require special support. Female Club members need a safe setting in which they can address health and social issues unique to them and build the necessary skills to resist negative influences such as drugs, alcohol and premature sexual activity. SMART Girls helps girls from 8–17 years of age to develop and adopt a healthy attitude and lifestyle, as well as acquire and maintain a positive self-concept, sound decision-making skills and mentor relationships.
Passport to Manhood
The passage from boyhood to manhood is challenging, requiring adolescent males to understand and manage many issues and transitions. Passport to Manhood addresses critical issues young men between the ages of 11–14 face during this time, such as ethics, decision making, wellness, fatherhood, employment and careers, cooperation and conflict, diversity, relationships and self-esteem.
Teen Centers
Special areas and programs for teenagers at the Farmville Club, Jack Minges Unit Club, Grady White Boats/E.R. Lewis Club, Lenoir County, Ayden and the Washington Unit.
Million Hours of Service
Million Members, Million Hours of Service gets youth engaged in their communities through fun projects. Studies show that young people who engage in service do better in school, maintain positive relationships with adults and avoid risky behaviors. These students are also less likely to drop out of high school and more likely to graduate than their peers who do not serve. Million Members, Million Hours of Service gets Club youth participating in volunteer and service projects that help them become successful and productive citizens.