Fuel for the Future: After-School Clubs Propel Students Toward Better Lives

Many children come home after school to a frightening sound—the silence of an empty home. It is a silence which can drive Oklahoma’s youth outside to seek friendship wherever they can find it, even in illegal activities or gangs. But thanks to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County, there is also a place that offers a different sound—the sound of laughter and learning.

Walk into any of the three Oklahoma City Boys and Girls Clubs locations after school, and you’re bound to hear plenty of laughter. From the kitchen where the students eat together to the gym where they exercise and play games, and even in the study room while they learn, these young people are full of joy and optimism. They are in a safe and well-structured environment, and most importantly, they have a place to belong.

“The club appeals to the need that all of us have, which is to join, to belong, and to be accepted,” said Doug Gibson, executive director of the organization. “That need is exactly what motivates people to join gangs. You are a part of a ‘family’ and gangs look after their members. The club endeavors to fill that basic human need with something constructive and positive.”

The purpose of the Boys and Girls Clubs is to inspire and enable young people to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens. Gibson said, “We want to provide every kid, especially the kids who need us most, with an opportunity to be all that they can be. We know that what makes a difference in the life of a child is a caring, responsible adult investing their time, talent, and energy into that child. ”

While the national Boys and Girls Clubs agency is over 100 years old, the Oklahoma County clubs trace their roots back to a group of concerned business owners in 1995. The owners watched unsupervised students make destructive decisions in the hours after school, so they opened the first club location at Memorial Park in Oklahoma City as an alternative. Now, the club has expanded to three Metro locations with over 3,400 members.

The clubs are open after school during the school year and all day throughout the summer. While at the club, students participate in a variety of programs such as arts and crafts, reading, fitness and recreation, character development, and a study hall called Power Hour. Club members are between the ages of six and 18. Membership dues to the club are deliberately kept low (around $10 annually) and no child is ever turned away for a lack of money.

Gibson is passionate about the club because he can see his own childhood experiences echoed in the lives of club members. He said, “When I was growing up in south Oklahoma City, both of my parents worked all the time. I attribute our local club, the Junior Optimist Boys’ Club, as literally saving my life and that of my younger brother. If it were not for the club, my brother and I may have ended up dead or in prison, like many of the young men I grew up with. I was there [at the club] virtually every day from age seven to 14, and it is where I learned everything. I learned to play little league baseball and football there, all under the positive influence of adults. I know what it did for my life, so when I had the opportunity to come back here and become the director, it was a very easy decision for me. I knew that if it worked for me, it could work for hundreds of other boys and girls and have the same kind of positive impact.”

Over the past 12 years, the Boys and Girls Clubs have produced a number of accomplished alumni. Perhaps the most recognizable is Darnell Jackson. “Darnell was assigned to do community service at the McKinley Park Club for breaking into some cars,” recalled Gibson. “He was 14 years old and had started hanging with the wrong bunch. The community service was an alternative to being locked up.” While at the club, one of the adult staff members took Jackson under his wing and began to mentor him. Jackson continued to stay involved with the club after his community service ended, and his grades and behavior improved. Gibson said,

“Long story short, Darnell became a good student, stayed out of trouble, earned a basketball scholarship to attend the University of Kansas, and is probably their most valuable player this year. He has really come to understand that education is his ticket to having a better job and providing more things for his family in the future.” Darnell was named Phillips 66 co-Big 12 Player of the Week in early January and is on the Dean’s Honor Roll at KU. Students like Jackson remind the staff and volunteers of the Boys and Girls Clubs that their work is vital.

Looking towards the future, Gibson believes more clubs are on the way. “We have a strong desire to move into south Oklahoma City,” he said. “We’ve identified eight specific neighborhoods that could really benefit from a Boys and Girls Club if we had the finances and facilities to open up.”

Finances from community gifts are already making a difference for the Memorial Park club. The club recently completed fundraising for Phase II of its new complex, raising over $4 million to build a state-of-the-art facility. The current building already houses a gym with hardwood floors, a teen game room and lounge, and a commercial kitchen and dining area. The addition will include classroom space and a technology center, and the completed club facility will cover 34,000 square feet. The expanded building will allow for greater outreach with the estimated 14,000 school-aged children who live within a two-mile radius of the building.

“We want to be a safe place, a positive place, a fun place, and a place where young people can learn important life skills,” Gibson said. Thanks to the investment of time, talent, and energy from staff and volunteers, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County will continue to be places of hope for the county’s youth for years to come.

Be a Part of the Solution
Boys and Girls Clubs volunteers are a vital part of the organization. Gibson encourages interested adults to get involved and volunteer their own unique talent. Volunteers coach, referee, tutor, teach computer skills, read with students, and mentor one-on-one. To request an application, visit the club’s website, BGCOKC.org or call 405-525-9191.

Boys and Girls Clubs Locations
• Memorial Park Club, 36th & N Western in Memorial Park
• McKinley Park Club, 1300 N McKinley in McKinley Park
• Taft Teen Center, 23rd & N May at Taft Middle School

Ben Davis is a freelance writer from Oklahoma City who loves writing, fried okra, and people, in that order.