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They provide a valuable bridge for our children to grow and learn between their time at school and their time at home.

Hello, I'm Julie Cooke.

On this edition of Tennessee is Talking, the topic is the Boys and Girls Club of Jackson.

We'll find out what services they provide to families and children and some new exciting projects taking place right here in Jackson.

Let the conversation begin.

That's so cool.

Then that's when I said that.

The problem with that idea is- Wow, that was amazing.

Then I came up with a solution.

[music] What was that about?

Here's what I think about it.

Now, we're talking.

West Tennessee PBS presents, Tennessee is Talking.

Let the conversation begin.

Thanks for joining the discussion.

I'm Julie Cooke.

Today we're talking about the Boys and Girls Club of Jackson.

We welcome their Chief Executive Officer, Sabrina Anderson.

Welcome to Tennessee is Talking.

Let's start with what services the Boys and Girls Club offer.

Sure.

I'd love to tell you that we serve children in our after school and summer program.

We have kids that are K through 12, and we provide arts and crafts.

We provide computer, STEM education.

We provide fitness.

We want our young people to be able to have a home away from home so that way they can be in a safe haven to learn and grow.

What do children have to do to qualify to be able to come to the Boys and Girls Club after school?

It doesn't matter what their socioeconomic status is or their religion, the only thing that they have to do is fill out a membership application.

Wonderful.

As far as income level or any of that-- Do you have a high number of at-risk kids?

We do have a large number of at-risk youth.

At-risk, basically, for most people it can be based on economics.

It can be based on those children going home to an empty household, like a latchkey kid.

It could be those children that don't have a regular, full-parent household, single-parent household counts.

For our young people, I think that they just need to be able to have someone that cares about them and show them a different way of life.

Do you work through mentors or volunteers?

-How does that work?

-We do have some mentors.

Those mentors typically are staff members, but people from the community that want to volunteer to help out, they have to go through a background check.

They have to go through a drug test, reference checks.

They have to be able to clear these checks, which are more stringent than typical volunteer programs -because you're working with kids.

-Because you're working with kids.

-What ages are the kids?

-Again?

Six through L, grades 12.

It's age five for some of them, they have to be in kindergarten to be at the Boys and Girls Club.

How many are you able to accommodate?

Is it by semester of school, or how does your year run?

Our year runs on an academic year basis.

That would be from August through May, and then our summer camp runs June and July.

How many kids are you able to accommodate, I guess, in a year's time?

We typically have about 800 kids that we have for servi.. We want to make sure that those young people have fun when they come through our do.. but to recognize that they are scholars that we are trying to help build their academic success.

We want them to be those productive, response point caring citizens.

For young people today, if they know that they're learning, they don't always like it, but if you disguise it, it comes across in a whole lot better life.

Give an example.

For example, if we are doing homework help, we will play a game.

That game may be about human Tic-Tac-Toe.

You can imagine the floor as a Tic-Tac-Toe board.

The children will answer a question that the director asks.

We could ask, Who is the President of the United States?

They would say, Joe Biden.

They would get to be the X on the floor.

The next young person would get a question.

It may be a math question.

It may be, What is four times four?

They reply 16, they get the O to put on the floor, whichever way they like.

You have to make it interactive, you have to make it engaging.

You want to draw on different areas so that everybody feels included.

That is quite the challenge.

Where do you get the ideas?

I guess what are your resources when you're trying to design programs?

Kids have so many things grabbing at their attention all the time.

How do you hone in on, or do you try things?

Maybe it works, or maybe you try something e.. What are your resources for your programs?

Boys and Girls Club of America provides a ton of resources for us as a whole.

We have what we call can programs like Smart Moves, Money Matters, Project Learn, My Future.

It's a whole host of programs that we can draw on from them, but we also have other partners that we work with, like PBS.

Jennifer Medford sends out tons of information and resources to us to be able to utilize.

That's every month, she'll send us a calendar, she'll send links to different information based on age group because everything is different for the different ages we serve.

If you think about it, that's a large span for K-12.

We utilize those.

The Jackson Madison County School System sends us information as well.

We do partner with UT Extension.

They send out a ton of information.

Every resource that we have adds value to what we provide and share with our children.

What are some of-- I know you want to talk about because you have partnerships with my goodness, United Way and Toyota, Ford, Blue Label, SK.

When a particular partnership with a very large donor say, this new STEM lab that's being provided by TVA and the Cal Ripken Senior Foundation, that sounds like a very large undertaking there.

It is huge, but it's a wonderful thing.

TBA and Cal Ripken partnered so that they could provide centers in Tennessee and Mississippi.

For us, it's huge because we have a new-- What do you call it?

The 3D printer.

We have Ozobots, we have Bee bots, we have Snap Circuits, and all of these things.

I'm glad you know what that is because I have no idea.

[laughs] It helps the children do critical thinking and to be able to do some coding, and do a little bit with STEM, so that it makes it easy for them to continue to grow and learn.

The Snap Circuits, they actually snap in based on the directions that you're given.

They give instruction on what's going to light up, what sounds are going to be made.

The Bees bots, they follow little paths.

They're cute little bees, literally, that follow a path on a road or program.

The STEM, we mentioned that stands.

You hear this a lot when you're talking about schools, science, technology, engineering, -and math.

-Math.

That was never my favorite.

I think that's why I always forget what the M stands for.

Is this actually equipment that comes to the club, and it has to be furnished with the technology?

When you get funds from this foundation, it's not only the program but all the equipment and everything that comes with that.

It's only equipment that comes with it.

There were no funds that were given.

That $1.1 million that was in the press release, people think the Boys and Girls Club got that money, but really we didn't get money.

-We got equipment.

-Equipment in there.

There's tables, chairs, and instructional supplies, those Snap Circuits, the Bee bots, Ozobots, all of that came with it.

We are very thankful for that donation and that partnership.

In addition to the equipment that's coming, we're going to get a whole wall that will be redone., like a wall wrap.

It'll make it exciting, and it'll look energetic with that STEM information across it.

That's very prominent right now with kids, especially younger.

The younger and younger kids.

The STEM programs, I guess, just reading, keeping up with the school system.

Many kids are going in that direction.

There are those who have more aptitude than others for that type of work, but what an amazing program.

You've had a training session.

I guess your club staff has to be trained, -that's part of your grant?

-We did.

We went to Memphis, and it was a four-hour training.

They brought a lady in.

She actually shared with us how to use the equipment.

To know how to do that, we did actual projects so that we would be able to teach the young people how to do that.

I thought that that was very helpful because sometimes you'll have donors that'll do things for you, but they don't tell you how to do.

-What you need to do.

-You have to teach the grown-ups -how to teach the little ones.

-Teach the grown-ups first so they can be able to teach the younger ones.

United Way is an amazing source in our area.

You have a partnership with United Way as well.

We do.

We actually serve Madison and Haywood counties.

We rely on United Way to help strengthen and build relationships within these counties.

We utilize resources that the community partners donate to United Way.

What about the Workforce Readiness Grant from Toyota?

Does this start with the younger ages or is this for the older kids?

Typically for our 13 and up, I say 13 to 18, Boys and Girls Club of America has a national partnership with Toyota.

Toyota sponsors different programs like our Youth of the Year.

Workforce readiness is huge right now.

We need young people to be able to fill positions that are really technical and positions that they're having a harder time filling.

We at Boys and Girls Club need to be able to teach our young people those soft skills for the resume writing.

To teach them how to interview.

Teach them about being drug-free, timely, how to talk to people, how to communicate.

That's one thing that's missing in our social media-type world.

They're using all the slang.

They're using these short verbiage and trying to make, trying to communicate.

We need them to come up to the real adult world life and share this is how we communicate.

Do that a lot with the younger ones that they, I feel like overall, a lot of them tend to be more introverted because they're doing, they're not doing a lot of things face-to-face.

It's more social media communication, which is the majority of their communication.

COVID did a number on everybody of all ages.

For our young people, this is how they started communicating.

What do you think about those kids that were in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, when they should be developing those communication skills.

-They missed that.

-They did.

For a couple of, probably going on three years.

A solid three years.

They had to learn how to adjust.

They don't typically talk as much.

They don't typically want to interact as much.

-You notice that as a whole.

-We notice it as a whole.

Once you get them going and fostered and you find something that they like, they'll start talking and they'll get involved.

-You have to- -They're definitely more introverted.

You have to prompt them.

You have to motivate them to be able to see that they have value for what they say and what they comment and how they're sharing it.

You teach them those appropriate.

You're talking about now those kids would be like eight to ten, -seven to nine.

-It's all very [?].

Right in that age, I guess, especially in that age group, because they would have been starting school and 20 if I'm doing my math right, I think it's well off the top of my head.

That's a Toyota Workforce Readiness Grant.

They go through, as you were saying, the resume writing and applying and even job shadowing.

Do you all set up the job shadowing for them at different places in town?

We do.

We really had a partnership with Old Navy and they had a chance to go this summer and they got to work the cash registers.

They had to do stocking.

They had to be able to do displays and set things up.

We'd also had a Money Matters session before with Cadence Bank, and they were able to articulate some financial questions for the team members there at Old Navy.

They were so impressed.

They asked us to come back.

We want people to know that if you have opportunities for young people to participate in, share it with us, give us that chance to help young people grow.

It just-- Things just happen sometimes when you hear a commercial, when you see people on TV.

We can make those connections.

Partnerships have value.

I think that's becoming more and more prominent.

I know many years ago I did-- I can't think of what it was called now, but where you go into the schools.

The Rise to Read, maybe?

No, it was longer than that.

[laughter] You would go into the schools and at that time we would have them cut out newspaper ads.

How much are you going to pay for an apartment?

What if you need a new refrigerator?

What if you need-- They would do budgets like that.

These would probably be eighth graders, I suppose.

I think it's just, in past years they're starting to think, these kids need to know about their money management very early on.

You get a car, well, you've got to pay for gas, you've got to pay the insurance and stuff like that.

Kids, even teenagers when they get cars, don't realize that a lot of times.

That's very helpful information in there, the book learning and then the life learning.

What is your relationship then with the Ford and BlueOval SK?

We have developed a relationship with our Ford personnel here locally and that became because of a $100,000 grant that we were awarded and it was a beautiful start of a relationship.

We want Ford to feel welcomed in our community.

We know that there are transformational things happening, particularly in our Haywood County.

They're going to be doing a lot of work with our Boys and Girls Club there.

It's at 127 North Grand Avenue and they're going to do our computer lab and our rec room.

We're hoping that you'll see lots of new activity there.

It's going to be more inviting for our teens.

We have a good teen population there in Brownsville, I think, for 2023.

I think we had 62 teens and served 205 youth there.

We want those kids to recognize that the Boys and Girls Club is open and it is there to help you, providing scholarships to help you, not just scholarships but leadership programs and academic opportunities.

We have a great partnership with Haywood County School System there.

There's a young lady that comes in and works with the youth on i-Ready to help them achieve academic success once again.

When you say i-Ready- i-Ready is a computer software program that is utilized for their school system to help kids navigate and excel on things that they are not so good at.

It takes what they grow and learn on and expound upon it.

When you say things like Z-Bots and i-Ready and things, I'm like, we don't know what we don't know.

Especially, if you don't have a school-age child, which mine is grown.

There's so many things that are amazing to even grown people that we've had.

I don't know about your opportunities in school, but as far as.. or all this technology that was just not there when so many of us were coming up.

It hasn't been that many years ago for some folks.

Let's talk about your different fundraisers that you have during the year.

I know the Steak 'N Burger is always a fun one.

It's super.

That's when the kids get the steaks and the other folks get the burgers.

-You got it.

-You switch it a little bit.

-I've been several times.

-Awesome.

Yes ma'am, we're looking forward to having our Steak 'N Burger dinner.

Our tentative, almost firm, is May the 2nd, and we'll be at Northside Assembly.

This is one of our larger fundraisers, and we ask that the communities just support us.

Companies that want to have fun and reward their employees, -send them to their Steak N' Burger.

-As far as ticket sales?

It's ticket and corporate sponsorships.

We prefer, of course, the sponsorships because that way we can count on people being there for sure.

Those will range from $10,000 down to $700 for a table.

We want everybody to come out and enjoy, but they build relationships with kids there as well.

You say, how do you do that, Sabrina?

We have a trivia night, and the kids get to ask questions.

The adults get to ask questions and answer them.

They compete against other tables for the championship.

Instead of relying on a speaker-- Speakers are great and awesome.

We have it where everybody can be engaged, and it's not going to be another chicken dinner night.

Lots and lots of fun.

There will be two kids at each table, and then there are six adults.

Very good.

Windows of Hope, that's the first Thursday in November every year.

That is, where is that located?

It's at the West Tennessee Healthcare Building.

A lot of people think that it's West Tennessee Healthcare decorating their building, but the stars and the candles that are lit up by people in the community making donations to the Boys and Gi..

It's affordable for anybody because you can give as little as $25 on up to whatever you design.

Is this on the 45 Bypass of the windows?

-It's on the 45 Bypass.

-Almost at Old Hickory.

Yes, ma'am, exactly.

You got it right.

You'll notice that later in the, much later in the year, -it's more towards Christmas time.

-Much later in the year, absolutely.

It's a fun thing for people to be able to give gifts for Christmas, for people that they don't know what to get them.

You give them a gift to light up a child's life.

I noticed a notation on here, New Boys and Girls Club, coming soon.

-Coming soon.

-Can you give a little bit of a hint?

I can.

We're going to be opening up a new Boys and Girls Club.

We're going to call it BGC North.

It's going to be at Northside Assembly, 27 Oil Well Road.

We're planning to open up this summer.

Lord willing, we'll find all the staff that we need to make that happen.

That's going to be right there by the Dream Center.

The new Dream Center is there.

We'll be able to have another place for our kids to be in a safe place.

What is your-- This seems awful overwhelming, your job.

I'm like, how do you break this all down?

I guess there's a lot of delegation.

What number of staff do you have, for one thing?

I have five full-time staff, six if you include me.

It's hard because you don't have enough staff to do everything that you'd like to do at 100%.

You wear people out, but we have a lot of prayer, and we just try to do the best we can to work smarter and not harder.

We try to promote from within.

We try to build up our team members to help them understand how things need to be and what functions are.

It is overwhelming because there are tons of things that you must do because we have BGCA mandatory requirements and reporting.

-There's paperwork.

-Safety.

Tons of paperwork.

-Lots of paperwork.

-Lots of paperwork.

Grant, are you a grant writer?

I write grants as well, yes ma'am.

I have to do that because we don't have a resource development person on staff.

Is your background in education or in social work?

My undergrad is in psychology and my master's is in education.

I started out at Boys and Girls Club as an intern, believe it or not.

24 years later, I am here and still loving it and enjoying it and wanting to make a difference in our community.

What is your, I guess if you look at kids overall, what is your primary concern when you think about the big picture for their future?

I want them to be able to have opportunities.

They don't know what they do not know.

If you can expose them to new things and different things, then you give them an opportunity to say, "Yes, I like this.

I want more of this.

I would like to try to figure out where this may lead or where this may go."

You never know.

Our young people, they're in the habit of saying no instead of saying yes because they don't always want to try new things.

Some adults don't want to try new things.

That just comes with being young, but some people stay like that, like you said.

You want to encourage them to try new things, whether it's new food, whether it's going new places, whether it's going to camp.

We take kids on a teen conference to the Ocoee in Cleveland, Tennessee.

They have an opportunity to do high ropes, low ropes, paintball, the mud raft.

-River rafting.

-It's just staying in a cabin.

These are things that some of our children have never been exposed to.

If we give them that opportunity, they might decide they want to do things with parks and recreation.

They may decide they want to do zip lining and just- -Fly through the air.

-Yes, just try it.

What is your, because we're getting close to our time being up, but what is your volunteer situation?

Do you recruit volunteers actively throughout the year or do they mentor one-to-one or how does that work?

Mentoring is typically in a group setting.

They might have five kids to one volunteer for that.

We do want people to volunteer with the club, but we do need to make it clear that they must successfully pass a background check, drug test, and that's going to be a fingerprint type background check.

We're going to do reference checks on you because we have to be able to verify that you're okay to be around kids.

It's just the tantamount safety protocol.

We do want that.

If they're interested in volunteering, they can go on our w.. www.bgcjmc.org, or they can call the club at 731-423-0627, and they can ask and we'll have them fill out the application and get started.

Very important work that you do, and God bless you -for everything that you do.

-Thank you.

How many volunteers do you have now?

Active volunteering every week, I would probably say, we have about 10 people doing it every week.

Do they come in just every day from that school period, after school until what, six o'clock?

Till six o'clock, yes ma'am, you got it.

That's really like a three to six.

Even if you did one hour, well one day a week, that's only three hours per week.

Very worthy, and continued success.

You've been, I know you told me you've been there two different times, so 16 years total, so certainly continued success to you.

Sabrina Anderson is the Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club.

Thank you so much for joining us today for this edition of Tennessee is Talking.

I'm Julie Cooke, and remember, you can stream today's program and all the local channel 11 programs on the PBS app, the West Tennessee PBS YouTube channel, and on westtnpbs.org, and keep the conversation going.

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