Health & Life Skills

Boys & Girls Clubs help young people develop the capacity to engage in positive behaviors that nurture their own well-being, set personal goals and develop the competencies to live successfully as self-sufficient adults.

Cavity-Free Zone was developed in response to the recent U.S. Surgeon General's report on oral health, which revealed a silent epidemic of oral disease in America, especially among disadvantaged youth. Underwritten by Crest, Cavity-Free Zone aims to improve the oral health of Club members. Through oral health educational program materials, a Web site and collaborative efforts with local dental schools, dental societies and other health care agencies, Cavity-Free Zone will be a catalyst for change in providing dental services to disadvantaged youth.

Chef’s Club is a cooking program that teaches youth members the basics in food preparation, including basic food safety tips, basic cooking terms, kitchen safety and the proper way to follow a recipe.

Community Based Abstinence Education Program (CBAE) is a grant-funded program awarded through a partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Tennessee State Alliance. This program uses “Choosing the Best” curriculum. Each year the program serves a total of 405 members, including 245 middle schoolers and 160 high schoolers, from the following Clubs: Samelson, Goodwill, Buckman, Southside and Downtown. An evaluation of the program will be conducted by the University of Tennessee's SWORPS (Social Work Office of Research and Public Service) program.

Nutritious snacks are served daily to Club members.?

At Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis, we're looking to improve the score for Memphis kids on the streets as well as in the classroom. We're helping our members to develop the skills to resist alcohol and other drug use. We're providing positive alternatives for at-risk youth and keeping them out of gangs through involvement in meaningful, constructive Club programs.

Annual physicals 

Dental and eye care opportunities

Hobo Stew is made from scratch using variety of vegetables to create a healthy, warm stew for the club members.

Kid’s Café provides food for meals and snacks to disadvantaged children in an environment that is safe, accessible and convenient. Kid’s Cafe furnishes food products for free meals and snacks through organizational linkages that serve at-risk children under the age of 17.

Sponsored by Food Bank, Kid's Café takes place at the John Dustin Buckman Boys & Girls Club on Tuesday and Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Passport to Manhood promotes and teaches responsibility while reinforcing positive behavior in male Club members ages 11 through 14. Passport to Manhood consists of 14 small-group sessions, each of which concentrates on a specific aspect of manhood through highly interactive activities. Each participant is issued his own "Passport" to underscore the idea that he is on a journey of maturation and personal growth.

The SMART Moves (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training) prevention/education program addresses the problems of drug and alcohol use and premature sexual activity. Based on proven techniques, the program uses a team approach involving Club staff, peer leaders, parents and community representatives. More than simply emphasizing a "Say No" message, the program teaches young people ages 7 through 15 how to say no by involving them in discussion and role-playing, practicing resistance and refusal skills, developing assertiveness, strengthening decision-making skills and analyzing media and peer influence. The ultimate goal of the program is to promote abstinence from substance abuse and adolescent sexual involvement through the practice of responsible behavior.

An outgrowth of the popular and effective SMART Moves (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training) program, SMART Girls is a health, fitness, prevention/education and self-esteem enhancement program for girls ages 10 through 15. Sponsored by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc., the program is designed to encourage healthy attitudes and lifestyles that will enable early-adolescent girls to develop to their full potential.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Street SMART (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training) initiative, funded by the Allstate Foundation, consists of three components designed to help young people ages 11 through 13 effectively resist gangs and violence, resolve conflicts and be positive peer helpers in their communities. It also allows them the opportunity to hold annual events that celebrate anti-gang, anti-violence themes. Street SMART serves as the National Project for Torch Clubs annually and is available for all Boys & Girls Clubs to use.

Art Club 

Book Club

Career Club 

Chef Club 

Garden Club

Learning Club 

Newspaper Club 

Science Club 

Technology Club