Our History
The idea of bringing Boys & Girls Clubs to Thurston County first originated in the late 1990s through a vision and dream held by a group of community leaders, some of whom had positive associations and affiliations with Clubs from their youth. They kept asking the question: “How could we have a state Capitol without a Boys & Girls Club?”
By the year 2000, significant fundraising efforts and the formation of the first Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County Board were complete. With guidance and initiative from Steve Boone; Lacey Youth Task Force; Colleen Gillespie; Community Foundation of South Puget Sound; local physician and former Boys & Girls Club of America national Youth of the Year, Dr. Tony Agtarap; Jamie Will and many other community leaders, feasibility studies and fundraising efforts intensified.
In 2001, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County was born and has been a premiere youth-serving organization ever since. With nine sites located in Tumwater, Rochester, Lacey, Olympia, Tenino, Yelm, RMAC and Griffin, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County serve over 1,500 youth in grades K-12 every year.
Throughout our history and with help from local business leaders, committed community members, passionate volunteers and staff, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County continues to grow and provide excellent programs to help youth realize their greatness.
In the fall of 2021, Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County celebrated 20 years of service to the youth of Thurston County.
Mission
Our mission at Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County is to inspire and enable youth to realize their greatness and reach their full potential. We believe all children and teens, no matter who they are or where they are from, deserve the chance to create a great future for themselves. The Clubs are available during out-of-school hours, and during school breaks, to help inspire and guide youth in a positive direction through academic enrichment, service leadership and healthy lifestyles activities.
Core Beliefs
Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County provides a safe place to learn and grow; ongoing relationships with caring adult professionals; life enhancing programs; character development experiences; hope and opportunity.
How We Achieve Excellence
We believe the best way to teach young adults is through leading by example. We are passionate about providing a safe, yet fun environment for all the youth that attend Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County.
We help Club members reach their goals by offering academic support and a range of enrichment programs and activities into their everyday experience at the Club. We strongly believe in providing learning opportunities to youth and teens, especially those who need us most, to help them reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.
Academic Success
We want every child to graduate from high school with a plan for the future. Our members have resources such as:
- Homework help in the education center
- Reading and writing clubs
- Programs in the tech lab and various art projects
We also have many volunteers who help mentor our club members.
Character & Citizenship
Every day, our members are taught about:
- Being respectful
- Being responsible
- Having integrity in their lives and interactions with others
We maintain these expectations not just for our kids, but also for our staff and volunteers, whose leadership and mentoring help guide our young people by example.
Healthy Lifestyles
We want children to live healthy, active lifestyles and practice making good decisions for themselves. In order to achieve this, we:
- Serve nutritious food for snack sand dinners
- Encourage kids to play sports and be active
- Help them find new ways to communicate in the art and music rooms
- Make sure they are surrounded by great mentors
