Boys & Girls Clubs of Austin Celebrate Play with National Day for Kids

National Day for Kids is an annual celebration of a pastime that has been everyone’s favorite at least once in their lives: play. The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area (BGCAA) took part in the Day for Kids celebration this past Saturday at their East Club location, hosting hundreds of area youth for a fun day of games, bar-b-que, and exploration. Every year, BGCAA partners with local organizations and businesses to create a memorable experience for the young and the young at heart. To make this year special, the Austin planetarium set up their mobile exhibit for kids to discover the planets and stars; members of Cattlemen Care grilled up burgers; Boulders Sports Climbing Center set up a rock wall; Corvettes belonging to the Longhorn Corvette Club lined the street for young auto fans to explore; and  volunteers from Set 2 Serve, Austin High School, and all walks of the Austin community came to teach kids tennis, paint their faces, or to learn how to dance the Dougie from Club kids. 

The East Club is busy five days every week with kids who come to play in the gym, use the high-tech computer lab donated by Dell, Inc., learn to play an instrument with Grounded in Music, or participate in one of the many programming options, but Saturday saw a completely full house of Club kids, their families, and curious neighborhood residents. Austin High School football players tossed footballs with elementary-age boys who barely peak at three feet tall but dream of one day donning a high school jersey, and Austin High cheerleaders led crowds of kids, BGCAA staff and volunteers in the Cha Cha Slide in the Club’s horseshoe drive. The BGCAA made sure there was an activity happening for every age group in a consistent flurry of fun and motion. One of the major tenets of the Boys & Girls Club movement is to get active and be healthy, and every attendant at the event worked up a sweat through lobbing volleyballs with the Austin High varsity team, scaling boulders, and learning to serve a tennis ball.

The BGCAA operates 17 Clubs throughout North Austin, Central Austin, South Austin, and East Austin, that serve over 10,000 kids a year, many who come from low income homes or neighborhoods with a high risk of gang and drug exposure. With programs that encourage academic success, healthy life choices, and character development, the 1,600 kids who came to the Clubs every day after school last year are 30% more likely to stay in school, graduate, and be drug free than their peers who do not experience the lifesaving outreach work of the BGCAA. 

Austin realtor Brian Talley strongly supports local non-profits, and especially those who invest in the community of Austin by investing in its future: kids. If you are interested in settling in Austin through a new Austin home search search or on learning more about helping the community where you already live, Brian Talley can aid both endeavors.