Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia - Eastern Shore Club

Grant: $10,000 for Computers, 3D Printers, Projector and Podcast Recording Technology

BGCSEVA’s Eastern Shore Club has been serving the Eastern Shore for over 20 years. The Club opened on June 16, 2003 in the town of Exmore. It has operated continuously since then. In the fall of 2021, the Eastern Shore Club relocated from operating out of Occohannock Elementary School to the Mary N. Smith Cultural Enrichment Center in Accomac, where it still operates today. The Eastern Shore Club is open from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday during the school year and from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. during the summer.

Under the guidance of Club Director Kathy Custis, our Eastern Shore Boys & Girls Club serves approximately 60 young people per day and served a total of 191 youth between July 2022 and June 2023.

The Club aims to be much more than a place for youth to spend time when school lets out. Clubs follow structured and outcome-based youth development programs passed down from Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). It enables a holistic, social, and emotional approach to youth development, allowing youth to be themselves. It provides youth with a safe place to unpack their emotions while simultaneously learning healthy habits and self-esteem. Club members develop independence and interpersonal skills. Together, these skills assist outcome-based programming, focused on five core areas: Character & Leadership Development, Health & Life Skills, The Arts, Sports, Fitness & Recreation, and Education & Career. Together, they form our three priority outcomes: Academic Success, Good Character & Leadership, and Healthy Lifestyles. 

The Fall 2023 ESVCF of $10,000 provided funding for technology to be incorporated in many of the special club programs. The technology includes: 3 Computers, 2 3D Printers and Filament, 3D Printer Pens, a Projector and Podcast Recording Technology. 

Summer 2024 Grant Update: The equipment has been purchased and will be incorporated into the Club’s already existing youth development programs, specifically, the Power Hour, DIY STEM, Torch Club and Keystone Club activities beginning Fall 2024. In the meantime, students are beginning to learn the basics of robotics and coding by working with Bee Bots, programmable robots used for various academic lessons. Each child was able to learn to program their Bee Bot to move in several directions, record and talk. The students created paths for their robot to maneuver through, culminating in a Bee Bot race to see who followed the correct steps to get their Bee Bot to the finish line.