United Way helps students to be successful through Project Learn
Boys and Girls Club program helps kids boost their knowledge
The Boys and Girls Club of Elgin is not just a place to hang out. In its four different locations: the Clubhouse, Ellis Middle School, Kimball Middle School and Larsen Middle School, the Club
offers a multitude of programs to its members.
The United Way funds the Project Learn to ensure that all kids have every opportunity to succeed in school and life, as part of the United Way's Education Impact area.
The Project Learn Program offers "high-yield learning activities," which include leisure reading, writing activities, discussions with knowledgeable adults, helping others, homework help and tutoring, and games like spelling bees, trivia games, math bingo, etc. that help to develop young people’s cognitive skills.
In Summer 2009, on average:
- Elementary students improved their spelling pre- to post- test scores by 22%.
- The average increase in science was 21%.
In Spring 2009, Project Learn reported:
- A 94% increase in spelling scores
- A 65% increase in science scores
- A 45% increase in reading scores
- A 35% increase in math
The Boys and Girls Club also demonstrate the spirit of Living United by volunteering. The Torch Club, the middle school leadership club, has held a food drive for local pantries, sponsored skate nights to raise money for the Larkin Center wish list, and sponsored a toiletry drive for the Red Cross. The group has done skate nights to raise money for flood victims in Fiji, and an Ellis Middle school student held a pennies for Leukemia drive, raising $400 in pennies for research. Another group within Boys and Girls Club, the Smart Moves group, took part in “Adopt a Grandparent” program.
If you'd like to donate to the Boys and Girls Club, they hold an annual "Duck Pluck" where you can give and be entered to win any of many fabulous prizes.
For more information on how you can volunteer in the Elgin area, click here.
