Our Programs

After School Program

Ongoing, Ages 5-18

The after school program is our most successful program. We provide activities for children ages 5-18 in a safe and caring environment. Some of our activities include, indoor and outdoor recreation (sledding, hockey, playground time, hiking and gardening), science experiments, healthy baking, and unstructured play-time.

After-School Snack Program

Ongoing, 40-60 children & youth

The Afterschool Snack Program was run by funding from the Grenfell Memorial Co-op through their 50/50 ticket draw each week. This program provided us with approximately $200 per month for snacks for our afterschool program. The program is run by workers and youth volunteers. Unfortunately, this year (January 2018) saw the closure of the Grenfell Memorial Co-op after 105 years.  This has a huge impact on our snack program.

Currently, we rely on donations from the community and local organizations such as the Salvation Army. In addition, we have received a Boys & Girls Club grant from Basic Needs, Brighter Future. This grant provides young people with resources to enhance and expand their access to food, education relating to food, and the development of healthy habits and life skills. Grants allow Clubs to feed more young people and their families, promote the importance of healthy habits, and educate Club staff and members.

Generously Supported By:

Youth Drop-In Service – UP 2 U Night

Ongoing, 10-15 youth, Fridays 6-8pm

Fridays are our UP 2 U Night. It is the only night of the week that is set aside for teenagers to drop in and socialize without organized programming.  I have seen as little as 2 show up for UP 2 U Night and as many, as 20. When they drop by, we may decide to have a movie night, or Rock Band tournaments. We have hosted ‘Jam Night” where they just want to ‘jam’ together with their musical instruments, or ‘Games Night” where they wanted to have a pool tournament. It’s a random, open night just for that age group. We are sometimes able to utilize the time to let them know about a program or activity that may be coming up. The key to this evening is letting the youth decide what they want to do.

Girls Night

Ongoing, 10-15 youth, Wednesdays 6-8pm

Girl’s Night has been a major success for our club. We began Girls Night more than 10 years ago, and the regular schedule along with exciting activities planned each Wednesday night, has seen up to 35 young women participate and enjoy the program. Each semester we schedule events that have been asked for by popular demand, or that staff feel the participants need. Some examples are sessions on self esteem, social bullying, puberty & sexuality, and fun nights like $10 prom or craft night.

This year has seen a change in the day the program is offered. Instead of Wednesday evening, our girls now gather on Monday evenings.

In addition, the program has been hosted with partners from the Anti-Violence Committee and Labrador-Grenfell Health. The program is called “Girls Decide” and incorporates many learning opportunities such as drug awareness, social media education, and risky behaviors alongside fun activities like glass art, paint night, and snowshoeing.

Boys Night

Ongoing, 8-10 youth, Mondays 6-8pm

Boys Night is part of our evening program and open to youth Grades 5 to 12. We have followed the Girls Night program with regards to age restrictions because we have found that it has been a good mentoring project and these youth are able to participate in most activities requiring fine motor skills and certain maturity levels.

Boys Night has been ongoing for the last two years. Some of the activities that we have been doing are healthy cooking night, tournament night, physical recreation, board games, survival skills and trivia.

Dance Program

Ongoing, 30 children & youth

Dance provides our children with physical activity, twice per week. We have done several different types of dance with different instructors. Some of the different types of dance we have covered includes, rumba, square dancing, hip-hop, country western, and bollywood. We have been asked to perform at several venues and are continuing to offer the program to our children and youth.

We have received numerous small pots of funding for this group, and have been asked by organizations and events in town to perform publicly. The dance program is one of our most successful programs with parents and youth signing up a few times a year.

Music Program

Ongoing,  Tuesdays 6-8pm

Our music program has been comprised of a range of things. Most recently we have partnered with the International Grenfell Association (IGA), offering guitar lessons at our location. The IGA has also sponsored the development of a music room for recording and instruction.

In the past, our music program has offered piano lessons and voice lessons.

Finding Me Program

Ongoing, 15-20 youth, Thursdays 6-8pm

A mental health support group for teens ages 12-18. It is a safe space led by caring adults that encourages teens who may have any issue that they would like to discuss to drop by and socialize with peers, learn new skills, and form new friendships. Activities include arts & crafts, recreational programs, presentations and an opportunity to travel to Toronto to meet new friends from the Boys s& Girls Clubs of Hamilton. 

Summer Program 

Children ages 5-11, July  – August (45 children)

Our Summer Program ran for 8 weeks (July and August).Our program is environmental based and provides children with activities and events that teach them the importance of environmental stewardship and conservation.  Each summer, children participate in gardening, recycling, and composting as well as a host of other special activities.

Each week we had a theme that was related to conservation. Themes included water conservation, critter connections, ocean kids, true colors, backyard fun, waterworks, creative camp, frozen, true colors, be a puppeteer.