Legislative Members Help Boys & Girls Club

A big announcement was made recently by Governor Rick Scott that he had approved $9 million in the state budget for the Boys & Girls Clubs throughout Florida. But long before Governor Scott had the opportunity to approve the budget, Representative Larry Lee was working the legislative process to help get the much needed funding for the Florida Alliance of Boys & Girls Club.

Getting the appropriation request through the maze known as the “State Budget Appropriations Process” is not easy. However that didn’t stop the efforts of Rep. Lee who personally carried the Boys & Girls Clubs Budget Appropriation request through the process including many Appropriation Subcommittees and full Committee; as well as getting the Florida House and Senate to agree.

State Representative Lee saw the need to provide more funding for Delinquency Prevention and Mentoring Programs to not only the youth in St. Lucie County but throughout Florida. Because of the leadership of Rep. Lee and others, the Boys & Girls Clubs in Florida will be able to serve over 57,000 youth with Delinquency Prevention and Mentoring Programs this year.

All of the Boys & Girls Clubs in Florida are Members of the Florida Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs which represents over 237 Clubs from Pensacola to Key West that served over 135,000 youth last year. They have over 14,000 Board Members, Adult Staff and Program Volunteers that assist with after school care, summer programs, assistance with homework, reading, computer work, delinquency prevention and mentoring programs. Boys & Girls Clubs are the place where young people are provided with the tools and guidance to achieve academic success, become community leaders and lead healthy lifestyles.

A recent Florida TaxWatch Study found that for every 100 additional High School Graduates that Boys & Girls Clubs help saves the State of Florida over $29,000,000.00.

Boys & Girls Clubs realize there is more to be done. Unfortunately there are over 4 Million youth in Florida between the ages of 6 to 18 years old and over 900,000 of them live at or below the poverty level. They will continue to work for more funding to help this group of young people.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing youth with a world class Boys & Girls Club experience, assuring that success is within reach for every young person who walks through our doors, and that every Club member graduates high school with a plan for the future, demonstrating good character and citizenship and living healthy lifestyles. The club strives to enable all members, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as caring, responsible and productive citizens.

With seventeen locations throughout the county, the Boys & Girls Clubs programs serve a diverse group of kids age 5-18. The 2,000 members come from a variety of backgrounds. Contact the Club by calling (772)460-9918, visiting www.bgcofslc.org or by liking us at www.facebook.com/bgcofslc.