The Westfield club will break ground June 1 on a $2.5 million expansion project.
Roxanne Spillett, president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.WESTFIELD – The Boys and Girls Clubs of America has a new three-point strategic goal aimed at improving the lives of its members.
The goals, outlined by national president Roxanne H. Spillett to Massachusetts club representatives at Westfield State University Thursday, aim at the academic success of its young members, building healthy lifestyles and ending obesity, and building good character and citizenship.
“Boys and Girls Clubs across the country continue to focus on those kids most in need and those who have the least amount of opportunities,” Spillett said. “We must continue to provide them the opportunity to experience new things that support their strong futures.
“Across the country only 75 percent of children graduate from high school, and in some places that percentage is only 50 percent. The United States ranks ninth in the world in the number of young people with college degrees,” she said. “We must do more, and our clubs will do this through homework help, tutoring, coaching and mentoring, all aimed at inspiring our youth.
“Our hope is every child who enters our doors will progress through high school and on to college,” Spillett said.
Spillett said the country’s “economic security depends on how well our children do.”
The clubs will also focus on First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative to end obesity by teaching and practicing healthy lifestyles and instill responsibility in all members to be of assistance to others, the national president said.
Spillett took time from a busy schedule Thursday to tour the Westfield Boys and Girls Club and review its plans for a $2.5 million expansion at the West Silver Street facility.
“I visited this club 33 years ago when it was on Free Street, and I am again struck by the dedication of its volunteers and the community support it receives,” she said.
“This is an excellent example of good people coming together around a great idea,” she said.
The local club will break ground June 1 on an expansion project that will add a second story to its building, allowing expansion of programs and services to its 1,600 members. A fund-raising drive has already raised $1.9 million of the $2.5 million needed.
Nationally there are 4,000 Boys and Girls Clubs that provide programs and services to four million members through its 50,000 professional staffers and 200,000 volunteers, said Spillett.