Staff members underwent training in everything from temperature readings to rigorous cleaning and distancing protocols to safely welcome as many as 45 six- to 12-year-olds each day. At two separate Club locations, children came to complete schoolwork, do artwork, play games and make new friends — all in accordance with distancing guidelines and other best practices. The activities were fun, communal and constructive. The art program’s time capsules, for example, offered “a great opportunity for kids to express how they’re feeling,” Stanhope says.
Even as it welcomed the children of essential workers, the organization had to rapidly reconfigure its usual programs, which serve some 1,500 children, age 5 to 17, each year. It offered cooking classes, storytelling and games through an online program called Club Connect.
Plus, Club staff called families to check in, devised simple craft projects kids could do with materials they already have at home, and distributed more than 13,000 meals-to-go every week.
To support these efforts Boys & Girls Clubs invested in technology to enable staff to work remotely and arranged to have laptops donated to families, supplementing those made available by local schools. “Kids that had never owned a laptop now have access to technology,” Stanhope says, “and that can be a game changer.”
These extraordinary adjustments, along with additional staff hours to cover the childcare program and the need for more cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment, led to unplanned costs of at least $100,000. The community responded with money and time, Stanhope says. For example, in addition to a $20,000 grant from Bank of America to help defray costs, local bank employees volunteered with Boys & Girls Clubs to stage an online talent show with member children. “That really gets to the heart of what we're trying to do — connect with our kids and their families.”
As nonprofits have adjusted to address increased needs in their local communities, Bank of America is committed to supporting them. Learn more about the bank’s $100 million philanthropic commitment to more than 1,300 non-profits on the front lines, as well as the bank’s $250 million commitment to assisting local businesses.
