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About
Us: The Boys & Girls Club
 The
Boys
& Girls Club of
Central Pennsylvania was founded as a part-time venture in
1939 at St. Paul's
Methodist Church in Harrisburg initially serving 75 boys.
In 1943, under the direction of Robert Clemments, the Club's
first professional director, the Club began its full-time
operation in a one-room building at its present site on Berryhill
Street, serving 200 boys. The same year the Club acquired
3 1/2 acres of land adjacent to the original building.
In 1950,
the Berryhill Street Club completed construction of a larger
clubhouse to accommodate a membership of 650. By 1962 Club
membership had swelled to over 1,000 necessitating enlarging
the Berryhill facility. By 1968, membership had grown to over
1,300.
In order
to meet the needs of an increasing membership as well as providing
services in another section of the city the Club opened a
second Clubhouse on Hanover Street in south Harrisburg in
1981. Known as the John N. Hall Clubhouse, this unit was significantly
enlarged in 1994. In 1995, the Berryhill Street facility,
now renamed the Angino Club House, began a long-term renovation
program in order to meet the needs of the surrounding community
and prepare for the challenges of the next century. A third
unit was opened in 1997 in the Howard Day Homes. This unit,
a joint effort of the Harrisburg Housing Authority and the
B&GCH, is known as the Cumberland Road Clubhouse and currently
serves over 200 children in this mid-town Harrisburg neighborhood.
In 2001,
over 2,500 at-risk kids have a place to call their own…the
Boys & Girls Club of Central Pennsylvania. The four neighborhood
Clubhouses, including our newest on Front Street in Steelton,
offer a drug-free, alcohol-free atmosphere with caring professionals.
They provide not only a safe and positive place to be but
also offer programs geared to today's challenges through specific
structured and guidance-oriented activities including:
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Socialization
and team building through sports and recreation
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Vocational
motivation through training and job placement
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Educational
motivation through remedial studies and tutoring
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Individual
and group guidance to address special needs and develop
specific talents
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