Boys & Girls Club Blog

December 20, 2024

What an Incredible Year at Your Boys & Girls Club!

As 2024 comes to a close and we prepare to embrace 2025, we reflect on an extraordinary year filled with growth, milestones, and gratitude. Together, we’ve worked tirelessly to fulfill our mission of improving the lives of children and families. I’d like to share some of this year’s highlights with you.

Four years ago, recognizing the growing need to serve more children, we began discussing how best to meet the needs of our community. That vision led to the groundbreaking of our 5-part capital project in 2022. Today, we’re thrilled to announce the completion of this ambitious project, which includes:

• A new expansion on the Radford side of our building for elementary-age kids.
• A remodeled and expanded middle school center and a brand new teen center.
• The new Hyde Family Community Center, designed to host area agencies that provide vital services like workforce development, mental health support, higher education classes, and more.
• A new playground, multi-purpose field, and a second gym, with the final gym piece completed this December.
• New administrative offices to better accommodate our growing need for staff.
• A remodeled and expanded Head Start program, which now includes six classrooms (up from four) and a new playground.

In May, we celebrated this project with a Ribbon Cutting. Read more about this milestone day for our Club here.

This expansion enables us to serve 450 children daily—150 more than ever before. While we celebrate this milestone, we are still fundraising to cover the cost of our second gym. If you’d like to help us reach our goal, donations can be made online at bgcosh.org.

Hyde Family Community Center

The Hyde Family Community Center opens new possibilities for collaboration, enhancing our programs and partnerships to better support children and families. Since opening in March, the Hyde Family Community Center proudly served 2,780 individuals and has 30 agency partners who provide vital community services. Looking ahead, we’re excited to welcome even more partners in 2025, expanding our ability to offer valuable resources and support to families in the area.

BE GREAT: Graduate and Great Futures Mentoring Programs

Our BE GREAT: Graduate team has continued to make a profound impact by mentoring teens and middle schoolers one-on-one at school, helping them stay on track for graduation and prepare for college, careers, and community involvement. With staff onsite daily at Oshkosh West and North High Schools, we’ve achieved a 100% graduation rate for 60 teens! In early 2024, we expanded this program to Vel Phillips Middle School, serving 30 more students.

Our Great Futures Program has been mentoring middle school children at the Club for 11 years and continues to grow!

Growth in Omro

This year marks the fourth year of our after-school program in Omro, where we’ve doubled the number of children served at Omro Elementary School. This fall, we launched a 4K wrap-around program, welcoming 22 additional kids.

Transportation Enhancements

Our partnership with Kobussen and additional vehicles have enabled us to transport 229 children daily from eight elementary and middle schools and two high schools, including the new Menominee Elementary School and Vel Phillips Middle School routes.

Driver’s Education

For the fourth consecutive years, we’ve offered three Driver’s Education classes, empowering 45 teens with this essential life skill.

Expanded Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

We also expanded our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) initiatives in partnership with the school district, introducing more mental health programming for teens. Our full-time staff achieved additional certifications, earning our Club a Level 4 Trauma-Informed Care designation.

Basic Needs and Family Support

At your Oshkosh Boys & Girls Club, we are unique in ensuring that every child has their basic needs met, giving them the opportunity to feel just like every other kid. This year, our Basic Needs Program made a meaningful impact by providing:

• 600 showers to support our members’ hygiene and well-being.
• 1,900 essential items, including clothing, shoes, and winter coats.
• $54,000 in Club scholarships, ensuring that no child is denied access due to financial hardship.

The holiday season was especially impactful. Through our Adopt-a-Family Program, we served a record-breaking 283 children and 109 families, providing clothing, household items, toys, and more. All members received a Thanksgiving meal, and 66 families were gifted turkeys and holiday dinners.

Back-to-School Fair

In collaboration with local agencies, we provided school supplies for over 1,400 children through the Back-to-School Fair, continuing to support students year-round.

Every day, we’re committed to providing meals, academic and mental health support, and keeping our members engaged and active.

A Heartfelt Thank You

We are deeply grateful for all we’ve accomplished together this year. Thank you to our incredible Oshkosh community, friends of the Club, board members, and staff for helping us serve children and families every single day.

As we look ahead to 2025, we’re excited about the opportunities and celebrations to come. We invite you to visit us for a tour to witness firsthand the amazing work happening at our Club.

Wishing you a joyful New Year! We look forward to seeing you in 2025.

Sincerely,

Tracy Ogden
CEO