We worked with the Bill & Crissy Haslam Foundation to build out the Tennessee Tutoring Corps. at local Club sites across Tennessee. With a focus on low ratio high dosage tutoring Club youth were paired with college students to focus on the COVID-19 learning loss. Curriculum and Edmentum Exact Path was aligned to Tennessee Standards in the areas of Math and ELA with Club youth being pre and post-tested. 

"To serve TANF Eligible Youth Ages: 5 – 13 and provide the following services: 

• Affordable Childcare
• Mental Health Support
• Financial Literacy 
• Workforce Development
• Coordination of Services Across Communities
• Community Specific Needs (i.e. Access to technology)"

To serve the youth who attend our targeted Club sites and provide youth development programming that addresses the social determinants of health, education, workforce development, mitigation of Adverse Childhood Experiences, mental health supports, and wrap-around supportive services to youth and families in need. To build capacity back to pre-COVID-19 numbers and hire and retain quality staff. 

The overarching goal of the proposed program is to enable students who are in need of improvement to achieve reading, math, and science proficiencies, as well as to reach the "whole student" through the following methods: using the STEM Inquiry-Based model in program activities, mentoring students to assist them with graduating from high school on time and to assist with post-secondary access, and providing a variety of supplemental enrichment activities to support students in all areas of their lives.

"Program Purpose: 

To develop high-quality after-school educational programming for at-risk students as well as implement the Project Learn program as outlined in the BGCA resources guides supporting the educational programs, including Project Learn, Power Hour, and other nationally recognized programs."

The funds were used for programs and services for educational enrichment; Exact Path web-based program, technology, educational supplies, and COVID-19 learning loss. 

Boys & Girls Clubs in Tennessee is using the funding to provide equipment and software to create or expand Spectrum Digital Connect technology labs at three Club sites to be used by youth and families for programming.

Funds were used for Combating Youth Mental Health with the school-age children that our Clubs serve.  Club staff were trained in PAXIS Tools and Tennessee Voices Mental Health First Aid as well as social emotional and learning supplies.  

Each of the participating Club organizations had a lead team of Club Professionals trained to deliver the “Prevention Works” Program and supplemental opioid prevention curriculum to Club youth, ages 10 to 18, who attend their Club sites in the Tennessee communities listed above. The Club Professionals also implemented strategies to build resiliency in youth by addressing their social and emotional development needs and through practicing trauma-informed care to youth who have experienced trauma—especially as it relates to their family members and the opioid epidemic.   

Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) programs, which are authorized as part of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), has a rich history of promoting efforts to support families and prevent child maltreatment. Grant emphasizes support for community-based efforts to develop, operate, expand, enhance, and coordinate initiatives, programs and activities to prevent child abuse and neglect.

The "Positive Parenting Program" implementation plan will use the Nurturing Parents program curriculum and is based on the "Nurturing Way" approach. The Club will implement a variety of Level I and Level II programs to address the root causes of abuse before the 'fact' as a primary prevention program.

"Mind Matters” Program, focused on addressing youth mental health needs post-pandemic. With 40% of youth having experienced negative impacts on their mental, social, and emotional health during the pandemic, programs that support youth mental health are critical.  Our program strategies included:

• Implementing the “Trauma-Informed Care (TIC)” model to ensure staff is trained, policies and programs are in place, and the Club environment is inclusive of the TIC standards. 

• Hiring a dedicated “Youth and Family Services Coordinator” to implement strategies to improve youth access to mental health supports and provide coordinated support services for youth and families; and.

• Implementing Positive Action, SMART Moves Emotional Wellness Program, and/or Pax Tools which focus on teaching social and emotional learning skills."

This grant will enable youth in middle school and high school to develop a plan for the future through helping them link post-secondary education needed to secure future careers, including helping them explore post-secondary education, apprenticeships, and full-time employment opportunities in their community or region which offer programs to study and build careers in their areas of interest and that are in high demand. Club professionals will help teens map out the steps they need to take as they develop the pathway for their plan for their future.