Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Alabama celebrated the national launch of a star-studded new Public Service Advertising (PSA) campaign today, featuring 21 notable Club alumni, dramatically showcasing the impact of the Club experience in transforming the lives of young people. The PSA made its debut during an event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

“We are very excited about the new PSA campaign because it shows the dramatic impact of the Club on young lives,” said Tom Cleckler, President/CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Alabama. “Just like these well-known Club alumni, we see the importance of setting high expectations for every child we serve and believe that investing in them now ensures a better future for all,” said Cleckler.

The ad, which was filmed in Los Angeles in June, features 21 notable Boys & Girls Club alumni including Denzel Washington and Jennifer Lopez (co-national spokespersons), Ashanti, General Wesley Clark, Misty Copeland, John Paul DeJoria, Cuba Gooding Jr., Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mario Lopez, Ne-Yo, Edward James Olmos, Lucille O’Neal, Shaquille O’Neal, Smokey Robinson, CC Sabathia, Martin Sheen, Courtney Vance, Kerry Washington, and Shaun White.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Alabama had its annual “Club Day” this past Thursday (July 14).

 Please see our photo gallery for more photos of the day's activities.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Alabama has gone to camp! Camp Hargis in Chelsea, Alabama is the current camp for BGCCA members. Club goers look forward to camp each year, and the time has finally come. Each year the boys and girls look forward to their week away at camp.

The boys attended camp two weeks ago (June 27-30), and the girls are currently at camp until Thursday.

While at camp, the boys and girls are able to enjoy hiking, fishing, field activities and swimming. The campers also have the pleasure of playing one of the Club's favorite camp games- Shambattle! Shambattle is similar to Capture-the-Flag, but the kids use bags of flour to attack their opponents.

"Our kids look forward to Shambattle every year," said Josh Pierce, programs director at John Williamson Boys and Girls Club and this year's camp director. "There is no question- Shambattle is why kids come to camp. It was always my favorite part of camp too."

Please see our photo gallery to view photos of the weeks' activities.

The annual Youth of the Year Dinner was held on February 5, 2011 at the beautiful new Embassy Suites in Hoover.  This year six seniors from three Clubs were recognized out of the more than 5,000 members as the Youth of the Year Finalists for 2010.  The nominees were Robin Keller & Kyle Parmley of the John A.Williamson Boys & Girls Club; Simeon Williams of the Boys & Girls Club of Brookside; and James Bradberry, Quleria Cottrell, and Haley Turner of the Boys & Girls Club of Hueytown/Pleasant Grove.  Each of these amazing students shared with the crowd of 200+ attendees about their expereince growing up in the Clubs, what they plan on doing with their futures, and how the Clubs have impacted their lives.  Each of the nominees received a small cash award and a laptop computer just for being a finalist. Quleria Cottrell was named Youth of the Year.  She received a $3000 college scholarship. Simeon Williams was named First Alternate and received a $2000 college scholarship.  Robin Keller, Kyle Parmley, James Bradberry, and Haley Turner each received a $1000 scholarship. For more pictures of our Youth of the Year event, please see our Photo Gallery.

 The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens hosted the “Graduate to Go” Business Camp at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel on August 3-4, where 50 local teens from area Boys & Girls Clubs were exposed to the entrepreneurial business world to encourage high school graduation and continued education. While at the camp a competition was held to demonstrate planning an effective business strategy that could be used in real life. Teams from Boys & Girls Clubs all over Alabama competed, but this year’s champions came from the Boys & Girls Club of Central Alabama’s Hueytown and John Williamson (Chalkville) Unit.

Teens of Alabama (Hueytown Unit) received first place and $2,000 with their Teen Center plan that focused on character building and preparing teens for the future. Members of ‘Teens of Alabama were: Christian Gardner, Ashley Martian, Dabrianna Hall, and Caderius Andrews. Second place went to team I Don’t Care (John Williamson Unit) whose business plan concentrated on creating a Buffet that fit the appetites of all their customers and creating a pricing structure that allowed patrons to use exact change in order to prevent excess pocket change. Third place went to team No Limitz (Hueytown Unit) with their strategy for building a Teen Center that allows members to develop their individual talents. Members of No Limitz were: John Giles, Darryl Cotton, Shannon Riley, and Brianna Leathers.

A few of the winners were recognized on ABC 30/40 on August 10th. Please see the photo gallery under the 'News & Events' tab for pictures.

If you are interested in having your child ride the bus/van from school to the Boys & Girls Club you must sign up at the Club by August 6, 2010. Please check with your Club's location for more details or visit your location's web page for more informaton.

All Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Alabama's employees and members are working along with corporate sponsors to reach our goal of adopting 10,000 ducks. Please visit our website www.alabamaduckrace.com for more information.

Academy Sports & Outdoors invited about 15 members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Alabama to its Hwy 150 store to pick out Alabama merchandise to help them get ready for the National Championship game on January 7th.  The members were able to chose from the various shirts, jackets, hats, hoodies, and various Crimson Tide gear.  "What a great way to kick off the National Championship week by visiting Academy and getting some awesome Crimson Tide clothes.  This is so much fun!  Thanks Academy," said Jonathan, a ten year old boy who was one of the Tide fans that participated in the event.  Check out the pictures in our photo gallery to see all of the kids having a great time at Academy Sports & Outdoors.

On November 18^th at 3:30pm  Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Alabama (BGCCA) alumnus Ruben Studdard unveiled a new billboard campaign in front of many at the Boys & Girls Club of Hueytown. “BE AN IDOL” billboards starring Studdard have been placed around the Birmingham.

Now that school is back in session and homework has begun the BGCCA is here to help. The HOMEWORK HELPLINE is back for another year to provide assistance for all those nagging homework problems.  Call 744-4500 anytime afterschool until 7:00pm and a dedicated staff member will be delighted to help.  For over a decade, the BGCCA has been providing the HOMEWORK HELPLINE free of charge for any child that can make a local phone call. 

For all of you that were once member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Alabama or the Birmingham Boys Club, we have a special place for you!  We have an Alumni Page and Guest Book on our site for you to sign, share your favorite memories and catch up with old friends. Click on the link to view the Guestbook.

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