Better together. A message from our President & CEO

Better together. A message from our President & CEO

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana's Commitment to our Community, Stakeholders, and Donors.

Dear Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana Donors, Volunteers and Community Partners:

Listening to Governor Holcomb’s order, his message was clear: Stay home and stay safe. Boys & Girls Clubs is taking this message very seriously. The safety of our staff and the members we serve must continue to be our top priority. This means our Clubs will be closed longer, and our staff will continue to work remotely. Thanks to you, we are fortunate enough to have this option for our staff and are able to continue providing them with their regularly scheduled hours and wages until at least April 17. We appreciate and value their employment and commitment to our Clubs and kids.

As we continue to make critical decisions for our Clubs affecting our members, their families and staff, our course of action is made with certainty because of individuals like you. You have made it clear that you want our communities’ youth to remain safe and our Clubs to remain viable.

I am holding hope that we will be able to open our Clubs in May. In the meantime, our organization is offering virtual training opportunities for all staff, piloting virtual programming for members, conducting assessments and updating operating plans, and doing other type of remote work to be more than ready for our “opening” day. When our Clubs re-open, we will be better and one step closer to being the best youth development organization in our communities.

As President and CEO, it is my promise to keep you updated with how our organization is continuing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and how our Clubs are remaining connected to our Club members. I also want to thank all of you for the influx of calls, emails and messages checking to see how WE are doing. That is true commitment and heart. Even in times of change, our kids still have their “home away from home” in their Club community because of you.

With sincere gratitude,

Ryan Smiley
President and CEO