Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos

All BGCSM programs are designed to promote three priority outcomes: Academic Success, Good Character & Citizenship, and Healthy Lifestyles. More specifically, our goals include:

- Ensuring on-time grade advancement and high school graduation, with a plan for the future.
- Providing resources to help kids develop healthy habits for life - that they are able to further adapt as they grow into adulthood.
- Development of social and emotional competencies.
- Preparing our teens for becoming competitive candidates for employment through workforce development and internships.
- Providing an atmosphere where kids can become confident thinkers and collaborators who respect themselves and others.
- Serving as caring mentors and creating an environment where every child or teen feels welcome, valued and appreciated.

Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos aims to promote the wellness, health, and success of school-aged youth in our region through targeted academic, collaborative, and recreational activities that encourage young learners to become the community's next generation of responsive, purposeful leaders.

- We provide a strategic blend of programs to complement that foster academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles.
- We frequently update programs and services to remain relevant to the times, and the needs of our communities.
- We collaborate with other youth-serving organizations in our community to innovative ways to serve members. Crucial partners include teachers, administrative staff, and social workers in the San Marcos Unified School District to provide wrap around services by filling academic gaps and offering small group counseling.

- Our Club has been in existence since 1979, with continuous growth and capacity building to serve the expanding needs of the youth in our community. Though COVID-19 has posed many challenges and BGCSM operates at a loss each month as a Distance Learning Center, we are committed fundraising in order to remain open to serve youth and families. With a priority to be accessible to all youth regardless of socioeconomic standing, costs have been structured to be as affordable as possible, with weekly program costs 25%-200%+ lower than comparable programs in the region.

- Our main branch hosts our region's only Best Buy Teen Tech Center presented by Sony, providing access to state of the art technology to local teens. Programs emphasize collaboration and workforce readiness to help teens build an arsenal of skills to not only graduate high school, but have a plan for their future.

- As mental health is key to living a fully productive life, we have established a priority and strategy in this area, with our Director of Member Impact, a full-time licensed social worker, on staff leading our efforts and developing new strategies as needs continue to arise.

In a normal year, BGCSM serves over 4,000 children and teens annually. During the 2018-2019 school year, program surveys showed:
- 84% of youth felt a sense of belonging at the Club
- 93% of youth recognized staff expectations
- 99% of teen members are on grade level for their age
- 83% of teen members actively participated in career exploration at the Club

Though we are proud of the impact BGCSM has made on local youth, key objectives going forward emphasize improving social-emotional wellness amongst our members. BGCSM’s current data reflects an overwhelming lack of self-confidence. In a survey of members ages 10 through 14, 87.5 percent of those surveyed acknowledged giving up “when something is hard for me,” with only 25 percent of those surveyed agreeing with the statement “I am confident in my abilities.” BGCSM has identified a direct correlation between positive exposure coupled with mental health support and enhanced self-confidence and academic trajectory.