About UsAbout Us
Evergreen Boys & Girls Club is an after-school and summer program for school-aged children. Club consists of homework assistance, time for recreation and social interaction, as well as programs in our core areas: Character and Leadership Development, Education and Career Development, Health & Life Skills, The Arts, and Sports, Fitness and Recreation.
Evergreen Boys & Girls Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the educational and character development of boys and girls in a safe and caring environment. Today, Evergreen Boys & Girls Club serves over 1000 members and their families in Indiana County. They benefit from trained, caring, professional staff and volunteers.
Our History
Boys & Girls Clubs have their roots in the “boys’ club movement” of the late nineteenth century. After the Civil War, thousands of boys who had lost their fathers during the war were homeless because their families did not have the money to feed them. Often these boys had to live on the streets from a very young age, gathering in large groups that wandered through the larger cities of the country.
Several women from the United Workers of New Haven, Connecticut believed that the boys who roamed the streets should have a positive alternative. So, in 1860 they organized the first Club, the “Dashaway Club” for boys. A cause was born.
In 1888, a group of Pittsburgh citizens founded a school for orphan boys, many of whom were living by selling newspapers. The Pittsburgh Newsboys Home opened in downtown Pittsburgh in 1888, eventually adding dormitory space and a gymnasium. This evolved into the first Boys Club in Western Pennsylvania, eventually becoming the Shadyside Boys & Girls Club.
In 1906, several Boys Clubs decided to affiliate. The Federated Boys Clubs in Boston was formed with 53 member organizations – this marked the start of a nationwide Movement and in 1931, the Boys Club Federation of America became Boys Clubs of America. The national organization's name was changed to Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 1990.
- 1972 – 1million boys served in 1000 Clubs
- 1993 – 2 million boys & girls served in 1,556 Clubs
- 1998 – 3 million youth served in 2,260 Clubs
- 2001 – 3.3 million youth served in 3,000 Clubs
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania (BGCWPA)
- January 2005 – 7000 youth served in 10 Clubs
- May 2005 – Evergreen Boys & Girls Club opens
- March 2006 – Evergreen Boys & Girls Club is Registered as an Extension of BGCWPA
- April 2007 – Evergreen Boys & Girls Club expands to serve members at 5 school-based sites