The board and staff of both organizations are pleased to announce that Little Falls Boys & Girls Club has officially united with Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota, effective October 5, 2023.
This partnership will provide the Little Falls Club with access to expanded programs and services, as well as additional training and support resources for Little Falls staff. It will enable the Club in Little Falls to have a greater impact on youth served in the community. In partnership with Central Minnesota, the Little Falls Boys & Girls Club’s mission will be: to do whatever it takes to empower all youth to reach their full potential.
The Board of Directors and staff of both Little Falls and Central Minnesota care deeply about the future of youth in Greater Minnesota and have been exploring ways to collaborate to better serve youth and families in our communities since fall of 2022. They are excited to establish this new partnership to build greater futures.
What does this mean for the youth, families and staff of Little Falls?
- Building on strengths: Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota is excited to partner with the Little Falls Boys & Girls Club because we share a common mission to support youth in our community. The Little Falls Boys & Girls Club provides a critical resource to the youth of the community, and they have been incredibly successful in building a strong network of support, including the New 2 You thrift shop partnership, the golf tournament fundraiser, and more. We look forward to building on this foundation to become even stronger together.
- Expanded programs and services: Youth at the Little Falls Boys & Girls Club can expect the same great programs and more! By joining Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota, youth will have access to programs like CareerSTART, a locally developed workforce readiness program for K-12; TransfrVR , virtual reality headset that empower youth to explore careers in more than 60 different modules; Edmentum, a gamified approach to increasing literacy and math skills; The American Reading Company, which provides age-appropriate yet high-interest books to increase literacy skills among all ages; Youth Arts Initiative high quality arts programming; and much more!
- More access to training and resources: Staff at the Little Falls Boys & Girls Club will be able to access additional training, professional development and support to help them be successful in all aspects of youth development, including trauma-informed practices, inclusion, behavior & discipline, academic support, the arts and more.
- Safety resources: Little Falls Boys & Girls Club will use Central Minnesota’s annual 5S safety standard evaluation protocol to assess facility and program safety and make strides toward continuous quality improvement. They will also benefit from various safety trainings provided throughout the year.
- A stronger network of support: Staff in Little Falls will benefit by joining a larger network of Boys & Girls Club youth development professionals. They will become join a network of 4 other Clubs, 11 KIDSTOP sites and 1 outreach location and can turn to staff in Central Minnesota for daily support, best practices, sharing of equipment and staff, etc.
- Increased stakeholder engagement: The Little Falls Club will generate increased business and community stakeholder engagement and support by joining with Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota and accessing their marketing and development resources.
Prior to the partnership, the Boys & Girls Club of Little Falls entered into a management agreement with Central Minnesota. The agreement provided Little Falls with greater access to resources to support the organization’s infrastructure, including accounting, human resources, compliance, marketing, and resource development support. The formalized partnership will further increase the impact achieved by working together by providing cost-effective management. In addition, families can expect no disruption of staff or management personnel as a result of this partnership.
“While we believe strongly in the power of coming together, great care is being taken to ensure that the Little Falls Boys & Girls Club remains connected to its community,” said Phil Smith, New2You Thrift Store Board Vice President and Little Falls Boys & Girls Club advocate. “That being said, we have formed a very close relationships with the staff of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota, which is located in St. Cloud. The Little Falls Club has already benefited greatly over the past 9 months through the management agreement with Central Minnesota, and we know our community’s youth will have expanded services and opportunities through this partnership.”
Under the auspices of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota, the Little Falls Boys & Girls Club will become a part of one of Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s largest organizations, serving more than 4,000 youth annually. The expanded organization will produce better outcomes for all members, extend opportunities for staff professional growth and development, and create a more sustainable organization.
“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Little Falls!” said Mary Swingle, President & CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota. “The service they provide to youth and families in their community is absolutely critical to fulfilling Boys & Girls Club’s mission. By coming together, our Clubs can share resources to serve even more kids. We believe in the power of partnership, and we are excited to achieve greater impact, together.”
More information about the Little Falls Boys & Girls Club (509 West Broadway, Little Falls):
The Little Falls Boys & Girls Club is open Monday – Friday after school – 6 p.m. to serve youth in grade K-12. We are open from 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. on non-school days. Registration for the 2023-24 school year is $40. Please visit https://www.bgcmn.org/clubs/boys-and-girls-club-registration/ to register online today.
For more information about the programs and services provided by Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota, now including Little Falls, contact us at 320-252-7616 or visit our website: www.bgcmn.org.