People impacted by this problem are mainly high school students of color. Since Alton was our priority for the research, most of the data we looked at revolved around their colored youths’ lower levels of graduation rates against their white counterparts. Their level of involvement with this issue was the reason we started the mentorship program because of how negatively they were impacted. We met with various students all having unique and shared experiences. However, due to their ages, we had to sign forms that the Boys and Girls Club team gave us to be official mentors, consequently why we can’t disclose any specific information about them. What I will say though is that even the Director of the Boys and Girls Club mentioned that any help that we could share to the teens was always welcomed because it might lead to the creation of positive ripples in their community.
The Boys and Girls Club of America was established in Hartford, Connecticut in 1860 by Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin, Elizabeth Hammersley, and Louisa Bushnell. The beginning of the Boys and Girls Club started with the belief that boys who roamed the streets should have a positive alternative. With character development as the cornerstone of the experience, the Club focused on capturing boys interests, improving their behavior and increasing their personal expectations and goals. The Boys and Girls Club of America was first the Federated Boys Club in 1906 and later in 1931 became the Boys Clubs of America. In 1956, the Boys Club of America celebrated their 50th anniversary and received a congressional charter. In 1990 to recognize that girls are apart of their cause they changed their name to the Boys and Girls Club of America. In that same year congress amended and renewed their charter. Their vision, “ Provide a world-class Club Experience that assures success is within reach of every young person who enters our doors, with all members on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, demonstrating good character and citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle.” Our mentorship program went along with their vision as our goal was to increase graduation rates and help them plan for the future.