Every year, Amerigroup runs its Holiday Card Contest for youth.
Kids from Boys & Girls Clubs across Washington participate and one lucky winner is chosen to receive a $50 Target gift card and 20 prints of their card to share with friends and family. Two runners-up receive Target gift cards and prints of their creations as prizes as well. Here are this year’s winners!
Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington State Association announced the largest grant in its history—a
three-year, $17,975,000 investment from Ballmer Group.
The award underscores Boys & Girls Clubs’ leadership role in youth development in WA and nationally. This investment will provide general operating support of Boys & Girls Clubs’ 14 member organizations. A multi-year investment, this grant will support life-changing programs in the nearly 140 Club sites throughout the state, with a special focus on youth and communities experiencing highest socio-economic barriers to healthy lifestyles and academic success.
Read the full news release here.
Molina Healthcare was founded in 1980 by an emergency room physician with a mission to provide quality health care to those who needed it, no matter the circumstances. Molina Healthcare of Washington has been caring for individuals and families across the state of Washington for over 21 years.
Today, Molina Healthcare of Washington serves over 1 million members, including over 460,000 children and youth, through government sponsored programs Apple Health (Medicaid), Medicare D-SNP, and the Health Benefit Exchange in every county across Washington state. They collaborate with community partners to eliminate access barriers and tackle health disparities to improve the health and lives of their members and communities.
Every day, Molina works to earn the continued trust of their members, providers, and community partners, so they can lean on Molina.
Boys & Girls Clubs throughout WA are happy to welcome Molina Apple Health members ages 6-18 to our facilities statewide thanks to this far-reaching partnership. Our life-changing programs align perfectly with Molina Healthcare’s vision of healthy communities.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington State Association is proud to announce a multilateral, public-private partnership to support mental health and well-being of Club members and their families.
With the help of recently secured Behavioral Health Promotion Pilot grants from the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Norcliffe Foundation, all Club organizations in the state are in the process of hiring or contracting Behavioral Support Specialists. These positions will be focused on promoting mental health programs and initiatives with Club members: leading small group sessions on positivity, meditation, and conflict resolution skills; helping Club families navigate complex behavioral health landscapes in their local community if further support is needed; assist Club staff with guiding good behavior and creating a trauma-informed Club environment. These partnerships also provide resources for statewide staff training in PAX Tools for Human Services, an evidence-based trauma-informed behavior guidance practice developed by the PAXIS Institute. Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington will partner with other statewide youth development providers like YMCAs of Washington, Communities In Schools of Washington, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and School’s Out Washington to provide funds for staff training in trauma-informed care. The mental health crisis is continuing to affect our youth in a variety of ways with possible long-term consequences, and Boys & Girls Clubs in Washington are proud and ready to conduct this very important prevention and promotion work.
The week of July 11th, teens from Boys & Girls Clubs of King County, Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue, and Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound traveled to our nation’s capitol for National Youth Advocacy Days. There they met with Senator Patty Murray and Representative Derek Kilmer among others to discuss the importance and impact the Club has had on their lives.
“To see all the young teens come together and share all of the advocacy work they are doing left me speechless – so many youth doing big things around the nation. Our teens in particular really enjoyed meeting with the senators and advocating for what they need help with in our communities. For example, one of our teens, Toni, talked about needing more resources for mental health with our youth in our community. They also enjoyed the panel made up of people who worked in congress, past employers of BGC, and other prestigious representatives to hear from them about what they can do in their communities to help make a change and then opened up a Q&A section as well giving the youth a chance to pick their brains!
“It was an empowering conference that left our teens wanting to come back and start making changes!”
– Makenzie White I (left), Branch Manager, Al Davies Branch, Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound
WA State Boys & Girls Clubs are safe places where all kids can gather and grow, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Click on the photo to see how YOU can be a better ally and supporter to LGBTQ+ youth.
