Frequently Asked Questions

Where are the Clubs located?

There are 31 programs located in schools in: Richland One and Richland Two School Districts; Lexington One and Lexington 5 School Districts; Fairfield County; as well as The Ben Arnold Unit in Rosewood and The DJJ Unit behind the fence.

Do we help with homework and allow outside tutors to come into the Club?

Yes, one hour is dedicated to homework time Monday – Thursday and our staff and volunteers are there to assist if needed.  We will allow outside tutors to come to the program, but they will have to complete the screening process we use for employees before they can interact with any child in our program.

How do I enroll my child?

There are two ways to enroll your child: you may sign up at the Service Center (fax, mail or visit) or perhaps the easiest way is to sign up online at www.bgcmidlands.org.

I have more than one child. Can I enroll my additional children at a discounted fee?

Yes, but only for full week after care services: each additional child receives a $5 discount.

Will BGCM continue to allow drop-in participants (children whose parents or day care are late picking up)?

We will allow one visit for free, but require the parent to pay for a daily package after the first time.

What are the fees to enroll my child?

BGCM will begin charging a $25 registration fee per child on August 1, 2009. The fee will help offset training and start-up costs. If students enroll in the program before July 31, 2009, this fee will be waived.

Is financial aid available?

Yes for qualifying families. If you qualify, simply bring the required documents to our Service Center and we will adjust our rates.  You can determine if you qualify by visiting our website or the parent board at your Club.

Do I have to enroll my child for a full week?

No, we offer flexible plans. We have three types of school care: after school care, before school care and early bird care. You can choose full week, half week and daily rates for each of these. We also offer an in-service day package.

How long has the Midlands had Boys & Girls Clubs?

2009 marks the 50th year for the Boys & Girls Clubs in the Midlands.

Does the United Way of the Midlands support the Boys & Girls Club of the Midlands?

Yes, we are one of the youth programs they support. United Way recently recognized us as having the #1 Youth Program in the Midlands.  BGCM receives about 4% of our funding from United Way.

How does the Boys & Girls Club determine their programs?

BGCM is a member organization of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. We follow their programs that have been developed and field tested for the Clubs by experts before being rolled out to local clubs like BGCM.  All programs are designed to be age appropriate, purposeful and fun. Boys & Girls Clubs of America was ranked the No. 1 among youth organizations for the 15th consecutive year by The Chronicle of Philanthropy Report on the efficient use of financial resources.

What are some of the activities being done at the Club?

After completing their homework and getting a nutritious snack, your child can choose between over 25 programs each week in Character & Leadership Development, Education & Career Development, Sports/Fitness & Recreation, Health & Life Skills and the Arts.  Programs offered include intramural sports leagues (i.e. flag football, dodge ball), computer literacy, drug awareness and risk behavior prevention programs, cooking classes, and leadership/community service group clubs.

What’s the member/staff ratio?

BGCM wants every child to have fun and learn. We average 15 members to one staff member on average.  Parents rate our staff as very professional and always energized.

Why is membership in the BGCM on a monthly pre-pay basis?

We are moving to a pre-payment process to 1) keep our overhead (and thus your fees) low; and 2) ensure that we receive payment for our services.  We determined that our staff was spending close to 40% of their time in the process of collecting and processing fees.  By moving to monthly pre-pay or auto draft as payment options, we will spend 75% less time on collections which allows us to keep our overhead (and your fees) low, and focus more attention on delivering life enhancing programs to your children.

We also ended the 2008-2009 school year with over $45,000 in uncollected fees.  This is a result of the payment model we were using which enabled customers to utilize our services, and leave without paying for them.  We cannot keep our costs low and continue to suffer these types of losses.

Are all employees being thoroughly screened?

We select our staff based upon their experience, character and passion for working with youth. Our staff is reviewed semi-annually and detailed professional development plans are followed to ensure they are successful at providing excellent service to our participants.

Our staff is our most valuable asset. We take the following steps to make sure the staff and volunteers who work at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands are the right people to care for your children.

1. All adults that interact with our participants go through a thorough screening process that includes reference checks, a national background check, and a sex offender registry check. All adults go through this process annually. This includes both staff and volunteers.

2. Volunteers are always accompanied by a trained paid youth development professional, and never left alone with the participants.

3. All adults must sign in with a paid professional before entering our program.

What type of training do we provide to staff?

All of our staff goes through intensive youth development and safety trainings to ensure your child’s experience is both fun and safe.  Each staff is required to complete our 14 module training program (developed by the Army) within 12 months of being hired, and receives additional training from our National Office in specific program delivery.  We also share best practices amongst clubs at quarterly retreats.

Are all staff CPR/First Aid certified?

Each club has at least two staff that are CPR/First Aid certified.

What type of field trips do they take during the school year?

Our field trips during the school year are limited to trips that tie to specific programs like community service projects, sports/education/social recreation tournaments, the zoo, art museums, and career exploration trips.  Occasionally a Club will take a field trip for a Fun Friday activity.

Is a snack provided?

Yes, we provide a USDA-approved healthy snack daily.

How can my child sign up to be a volunteer?

We allow high school students to volunteer at our programs.  They can apply by completing a volunteer application from our website and submit to our HR department.  Once they are screened and go through an orientation, they will be assigned to a program in their community.

Will we have a representative from BGCM at schools for registration?

Yes, the director of your program will be at the school registrations to meet parents and answer questions as well as register participants for the program.  However, we strongly recommend that you pre-register for the program prior to the school registrations because some of our sites have space limitations and fill up quickly.