After-school Hours: Prime Time for Juvenile Crime

Oct. 28, 2009 - PRLog -- The after-school hours are a peak time for juvenile crime and risky behaviours, owing to a lack of guidance or supervision.

Moreover, it is an established fact that after-school programs offer a healthy, positive alternative and can serve as important youth violence prevention and intervention strategies. Yet the City of Lethbridge in Canada observed how most of their youth did not even have access to basic after-school programs.

This is when they decided to bring in an organization to provide meaningful and worthwhile programs for school-going children.

After doing some research, they came across the Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada.

“Our objective was to provide opportunities for socialization and acceptance at a time when there were not a lot of structured activities available for kids,” Executive Director Trever Broadhead said.

In 1987, membership was given to the Boys & Girls Club of Lethbridge and a new club was created within the Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada.

“Studies show that the time period between when children leave school and when parents get home from work is a critical time where kids tend to get into trouble, if not supervised,” Broadhead said. “Boys & Girls Clubs address this issue in a preventative way by giving kids a place to come where they can interact with adult mentors and participate in structured activities, geared towards helping them develop into healthy and responsible adults.”

The Club provides out-of-school programs and activities for children aged 5 to 11 within a safe, secure and fun environment so they have a place to go after school while their parents are still at work.

According to Broadhead, the organization’s trained and certified staff delivers activities, which offer children the opportunity to learn new skills, stay active, promote healthy living and experience new things.

The Club recently identified generating the funds required to continue to run their programs and operate at a high level of efficiency and quality to be one of its key challenges.

“Our building is in need of substantial upgrades due to the tremendous wear and tear placed on it on a daily basis,” Broadhead said. “There is also a lack of space to meet the high demand for our programs.”

A chance meeting with ActionCOACH Business Coach Greg Stonehocker at the Downtown Rotary Association of Lethbridge led representatives of both organizations to see a good fit between ActionCOACH’s new Coaching for a Cause program and the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Touted as the company’s first global cause-related marketing campaign, Coaching for a Cause will help non-profits and charities all over the world raise at least an additional $2.5 million in donations from October 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.

Top ActionCOACH Business Coaches have pledged to donate coaching hours to this sector for a combined value of $1.8 million.

In view of the lack of business assistance available for charities, Broadhead believes this initiative is a positive step in the right direction.

“For a while now, I’ve been thinking of ways to access low-cost, impactful courses or coaching opportunities and then suddenly, Greg came knocking on my door. This initiative will create a very powerful model for other corporations to emulate,” he said.

Broadhead also sees the coaching process as an opportunity to work with someone who has a practical and well-rounded business background to help him set and achieve his goals. He believes the coaching process will put him in a better position to act more confidently and make better decisions for the benefit of the Club.

“I expect my coach to provide me with the tools to improve our operations and increase funds generated by the Club,” he said. “I also expect my coach to be a sounding board and someone with whom I can brainstorm and synthesize new ideas.”

Stonehocker will help the organization achieve an additional $80,000 in funds over the six-month period by coaching them on an average of about 8-10 hours a month.

“The number one focus we have for this program is to implement the specific long-term strategies to increase overall donations, which will enable us to cover the monthly costs associated with running our programs,” he said.

Stonehocker describes Coaching for a Cause as one of the best Global initiatives ActionCOACH has ever come up with.  

“It’s exactly what our vision and mission is all about – world abundance,” he said. “This also allows us to work with the Boys and Girls Clubs where foundations are built for our future families and communities,” he said.

Close on the heels of Coaching for a Cause’s global launch, the Boys and Girls Club also held its signature event on its fundraising schedule.

“On October 16, we had our Bidz for Kids Dinner & Auction; about 200 people attended this year. For this, we sell tables to the event and ask businesses and individuals to donate auction items and cash to support the auction,” Broadhead said. “The proceeds from this year’s event will go towards our Facility Enhancement Fund and be allocated to our gymnasium floor project.”

Coaching for a Cause is an innovative, new program from ActionCOACH, the world’s number one business and executive coaching firm, that makes pro-bono coaching available to charities and non-profits worldwide. To learn more, go to coachingforacause.org or subscribe to RSS news feeds at news.actioncoach.com

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Coaching for a Cause is an innovative, new program from ActionCOACH, the world’s number one business and executive coaching firm, that makes pro-bono coaching available to charities and non-profits worldwide. To learn more, go to coachingforacause.org or subscribe to RSS news feeds at news.actioncoach.com