{"id":4720,"date":"2025-02-04T05:03:54","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T10:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/?p=4720"},"modified":"2025-02-04T05:10:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T10:10:19","slug":"bloomington-normal-a-safe-place-for-growth-and-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/bloomington-normal-a-safe-place-for-growth-and-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal: A Safe Place for Growth and Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal<\/a> (BGCBN) is a place where kids know they can count on a warm reception and some homework help at BGCBN in the hours after school. But studying and mentoring are only a small part of what the young club recipients receive at BGCBN. The fact is, seven Boys & Girls Clubs across America have already benefited from our small grant program<\/a>. That means we\u2019re looking for something out of the ordinary when we consider a new branch of this always amazing organization.<\/p>\n

What we found at Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal that helps it stand out from the crowd is that it offers trauma-informed care, serving as a vital resource for children living on the west side of this central Illinois<\/a> town, where many families face economic hardships. Kids feel safe at BGCBN. Because they feel secure rather than on guard or misunderstood by the adults and children around them, club members are able to devote their energies to improving their schoolwork, having fun, and learning leadership skills.<\/p>\n

In this interview, Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal Director of Philanthropy Kimberly Scheirer shares insights into the unique demographic challenges of the region, the Club’s values, and its innovative approaches to engaging youth in meaningful ways:<\/p>\n

Kars4Kids: Tell us something about your area\u2014about Bloomington-Normal. What are your demographics? Do you serve a specific sector of youth?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kimberly Scheirer: Bloomington-Normal is a city in central Illinois with a small-town feel and home to large insurance companies, multiple universities, two amazing health care systems and boasts one of the highest number of restaurants per capita than almost anywhere else in the US. The west side of Bloomington is often forgotten and is home to many families experiencing poverty. Our Club is located here, right next to the Cargill factory, and therefore primarily serves those youth who need us most.<\/p>\n

Kars4Kids: You\u2019re the eighth Boys & Girls Club to win our small grant award\u2014BGC always has been and always will be a great organization! But when we give a grant to one branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, it\u2019s because distinguishes itself from the others, be it through excellence of service; interesting programs specific to that branch, or simply good results\u2014having an impact on kids\u2019 lives and on the community. What would you say distinguishes Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal from other Boys & Girls Clubs? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kimberly Scheirer: We are blessed to have access to Boys & Girls Club of America\u2019s resources and evidence-based programming, but they also recognize that each Club knows how to serve its community best and that there is no one-size-fits-all. Therefore, we\u2019re able to be exactly the kind of Club needed in Bloomington-Normal. Currently, that involves becoming a trauma-informed organization. It also means working with a variety of partners in our community to provide mentoring, homework help, and core programming to our members. I would also highlight the amazing culture that has been built for staff in recent years, resulting in low turnover and has therefore allowed us to built trust with our members and families and with one another.<\/p>\n

Kars4Kids: BGCBN is committed to a set of values\u2014I Care Values (Integrity, Collaboration, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence)\u2014to ensure that kids, families, and staff are your highest priorities. Can you flesh that out for us a bit? How does that play out, practically speaking? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kimberly Scheirer: Not only do we wear the values on our shirts and include them in our e-mail signatures, but we also talk about the values at meetings, during staff onboarding, and with members. We find opportunities to point to a specific value being demonstrated and connect dots about how that action embodied a particular value which allows us to fulfill our mission. These conversations are great reminders of how we can walk the walk every day.<\/p>\n

Kars4Kids: We always find it interesting to see in which order youth development programs are listed on the websites of our small grant applicants. It tells us something about the focus of an organization. In the case of BGCBN, \u201cLeadership & Service\u201d is listed first. Why? Is it just a coincidence or something more?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kimberly Scheirer: Leadership should always lead the way! Honestly, we didn\u2019t intentionally prioritize one over the rest for top billing, but Leadership & Service would receive my top choice for a focus if I had to choose one. This is perfectly in line with our values in the sense that we are always showcasing our Club members and staff members how to be great leaders and be of service to the community and the greater good.<\/p>\n

Kars4Kids: BGCBN is using project-based learning techniques for your technology programs. Can you describe some of the projects the kids have worked on through the years?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kimberly Scheirer:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • MyFuture weekly lessons on iPads<\/li>\n
  • Reading books on Kindles<\/li>\n
  • Auto Lessons (Rivian (Tours of facilities\/bringing cars in)\/(STEM Days mechanical maintenance\/engineering)<\/li>\n
  • CARLE\/CARLE Simulation Lab<\/li>\n
  • Coding\/Programming Workshops (ISU)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \"Boy
    Sports are part of the healthy-living component of BGCBN, but sports are also fun, which is also an important aspect of what BGCBN offers to children in the community.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Kars4Kids: Outside of afterschool homework help and tutoring do you offer other educational programs or services? For example, are you doing anything specific to combat summer learning loss? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Kimberly Scheirer: We try to incorporate educational components into our programming as much as we can, such as through our STEAM-Powered Play collaboration with the local Children\u2019s Museum and our financial literacy efforts in partnership with Junior Achievement. We continue this effort in the summertime, too. We\u2019re reading books and doing science projects and playing math and vocabulary games to keep everyone learning while having fun.<\/p>\n

    \"Child
    Having fun at Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Kars4Kids: How do your summer activities differ from the activities you offer during the school year?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Kimberly Scheirer: We can inject a little bit more fun into our summer programming! We include field trips, morning dance parties, trips to local playgrounds and parks, and swimming lessons.<\/p>\n

    Kars4Kids: Can you tell us something about the role of volunteers at BGCBN? How many volunteers are currently on staff? What kind of commitment do they make?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Kimberly Scheirer: Last year we hit a record with 100 volunteers enrolled in 2024! Our volunteers, though, provide different kinds of support. Some volunteers participate in done-in-a-day projects such as landscaping or organizing the Clubhouse. Many others engage in an enrollment and background check process so that they can work directly with the members on an ongoing basis. They join us on a set schedule and help out with whatever grade level might need more adults that day or might be doing a more complex activity where extra help is needed. Our volunteers have such great relationships with the youth! Many are retired educators who are enormously valuable during homework time.<\/p>\n

    Kars4Kids: Tell us about Operation Impact.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Kimberly Scheirer: Operation Impact is an initiative of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midwest region to work together to advance five objectives to better support youth outcomes and increase our reach, and ultimately allow us to collaborate to seek funding for our efforts. These five objectives include a focus on teen recruitment, the trauma-informed care journey, digital transformation of Clubs, better implementation of national programs, and a Life & Workforce Readiness strategy.<\/p>\n

    These five objectives closely align to our Club\u2019s focus and vision, so we are excited to work alongside other Illinois Clubs and beyond to benchmark, share resources, and collaborate on funding requests to help us best serve youth.<\/p>\n

    Kars4Kids: What\u2019s next for BGCBN?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Kimberly Scheirer: Growth! We have been working for years on fundraising for a new Clubhouse just down the street from our current location. Our building has sufficed for our needs for 30 years, but to truly provide the best quality of programming to all the local children in need, we need something bigger and better. We are hoping to be closing in on a groundbreaking in 2025. Beyond that, we are excited to continue with the objectives set forth in Operation Impact to best serve our youth. We are so appreciative of community supporters and other funders \u2013 like you! \u2013 who help us do what we do every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal (BGCBN) is a place where kids know they can count on a warm reception […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBoys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal: A Safe Place for Growth and Leadership - Kars4Kids Small Grants<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal, a Kars4Kids small grant recipient, fosters a safe, trauma-informed space where children can thrive.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kars4kidsgrants.org\/our-grantees\/bloomington-normal-a-safe-place-for-growth-and-leadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal: A Safe Place for Growth and Leadership - 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