My Volunteer Work With the Boys and Girls Club

1103 Words3 Pages

I began by tutoring at the Boys and Girls Club (BGC) and eventually became a teacher at the boys and girls club. The focus of my continued volunteer work was to enrich the children’s after school experience whether they needed help with homework or busy work. During my volunteer work the issue that stuck out in my mid continuously was social class or classism. The BGC emphasizes many different issues and points such as “creating aspirations for the future,” “Helping youth become responsible, caring citizens and acquire skills for participating in the democratic process is the main thrust of these programs and also to develop leadership skills and provide opportunities for planning, decision-making.” BGC encourages kids to engage in healthy and positive behavior as well as to help the youth build and discover creativity in the arts “Club programs help develop fitness, a positive use of leisure time, reduction of stress, appreciation for the environment and social and interpersonal skills.” (bgca.org) The importance of this issue and why it was so obvious to me was because the kids that came or participated in BGC were normally of the lower social and income class. The lower class is blamed for most of the crime because of various reasons from not having a good role model to not having enough to do after school and BGC intervenes to try to change these statistics/findings by giving kids something to do after school and/or providing good role models. In this paper I will explain the importance of classism and the importance of organizations like BGC and its effects on kids. (bgca.org) Classism is the lesser or different treatment based on social class. Classism is the oppression of the minority class groups to advantage and strengt... ... middle of paper ... ...s mission not for every kids but for many kids. Clubs seek to help kids marginalized and cast to the side and is very effective doing this. I probably will go back when I’m not in college and volunteer. Classism is going to continue as the gap between social classes continues to widen however clubs and organizations can help kids to rise and achieve what they otherwise might not have been able to achieve otherwise. Positivity can go a long way. Works Cited "BGCA Helps Parents Inspire Their Kids to Give Back During Holidays." Boys & Girls Clubs of America. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. "Class Action." Class Action. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. "Marginalization." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 01 Jan. 2008. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. Fuller, Robert. "What Is Rankism and Why Do We "Do" It?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.

Open Document