Boys & Girls Clubs of America

How It all Started

In 1860, three compassionate ladies in Hartford, Connecticut invited a group of street boys into their home for tea, coffee, and cake.  The positive behavior and obvious appreciation of the boys completely surprised the ladies, so they extended their hospitality several more times with the same positive response from the boys.  Along with several other supporters, the ladies resolved to find an available facility where the boys could come regularly throughout the day.  These ladies and their supporters established the first Boys Club in 1860 - the Dashaway Club.    In 1862 the Dashaway Club closed due to the Civil War.  It took eight years before another such club open - The Union for Christian Work in Providence, RI.

It wasn’t until 1906 when a group individuals representing 14 Boys Clubs met in Boston to form the Federated Boys Club, Inc.  The organization moved to New York in 1915, under the name of The Boys Club Federation, becoming the Boys Club Federation of America in 1929, and Boys Club of America, Inc., in 1931.  In 1956, the Boys Clubs of America was chartered by Congress by a unanimous vote in the Senate and the House of Representatives.  On September 12, 1990 the name was officially changed from the Boys Clubs of America to “Boys & Girls Clubs of America.”

Currently there are 4 million youth that are served nationwide by Boys & Girls Clubs in some 4000 separate clubs or units.  The Boys & Girls Clubs of America has an outreach in all fifty states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and on every military installation around the world.