Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dubuque

The Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce's Dubuque Dances with the Stars 2024 is being held Sat, June 8th 2024. Jason Davis an Army Ranger Veteran and Boys & Girls Club Alumni will be dancing to raise funds for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dubuque Food Program.

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dubuque's mission is to provide Dubuque-area youth programs that promote health and wellness, educational, social, cultural, and leadership and character development skills. We place an emphasis on areas with the greatest potential impact, in an environment that enables our members to become responsible, productive, and positive citizens.

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dubuque Meal Program addresses and provides a solution to food insecurity for kids across the Dubuque area. Many kids receive their entire nutritional needs through free or reduced meal programs at their schools. When kids leave school, they may not have the opportunity to eat again until they return the next day. During those important afterschool or summer hours, we provide a nutritious meal to kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dubuque and at multiple meal sites throughout Dubuque. When kids no longer have to worry about food insecurity, they can become the best versions of themselves and take advantage of the numerous programs that we offer at the Boys & Girls Club.

With our renewed focus on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) Education and Brain Health. We are creating a well-rounded program where kids can come to a safe environment, not worry about being hungry, learn through the STEAM program, and be comfortable in our Brain Health Space without judgement. Ultimately, we hope our members will discover a STEAM program they have a passion for that they wish to pursue into a career. Through our newly established Meyer Family Positive Outcomes Fund we are offering scholarships for our members to attend trade school or a traditional school.

After school, we provide a free nutritious meal to Boys & Girls Club members, St. Mark Youth enrichment members (who now host their programming at our Club) and at Terrace Heights Trailer Park. During the summer, we provide breakfast, lunch, and a snack to children at the Boys & Girls Club, St. Mark Youth Enrichment, Terrace Heights Trailer Park, and numerous meal sites at parks across the Dubuque area. During 2023, we served 66,743 meals to children in need.

Our Healthy Habits Program educates our kids on nutrition, physical activity and whole-body wellness. Members are taught to make a healthy snack and given the recipe to share with their family. To increase engagement with our parents and guardians, we host a monthly meal with your child at the Boys & Girls Club. During this night, parents come take part in a STEAM program with their child and then enjoy a free nutritious meal with their kids. This engages parents and allows us to educate families on healthy eating and encourage positive time together.

Another proud accomplishment was the installation of outdoor raised garden beds for our members. During programming time, our members learn about healthy eating and take part in planting vegetables and fruits in our garden beds. These ingredients are then used to make our snacks.

We hope you will consider contributing to this fundraiser, so we can reach more kids who truly need us.