Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula is Honored as a Welcoming Star

Redwood City Together is pleased to award the 21st Welcoming Star award to the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula. Peter Fortenbaugh (CE0), Ruby Fong (Associate Director), Janet Lara Alvarez, and others received the award at the virtual Redwood City Council meeting on November 23, 2020.  

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula (BGCP) is a critical resource for our community’s underserved families in North Fair Oaks, Redwood City, East Palo Alto, and eastern Menlo Park. BGCP provides K-12 students with year-round academic enrichment and social-emotional learning programs, which run in collaboration with local schools, school districts, cities, nonprofits, and businesses. In Redwood City, over 1000 students participate in robust after-school and summer extended learning programs at the Redwood City Teen Clubhouse and at five school sites (Hoover, Taft, Garfield, Woodside High School and Sequoia High School).   

While schools remain closed due to COVID-19, BGCP has stepped up to support students and school district partners with safe, supportive, in-person work spaces for online learning at several clubhouses and school sites. These Community Learning Hubs are designed to foster a sense of community amongst students, and designed to support caregivers, working parents and others who cannot access virtual learning at home.  

One of the most important differentiators between BGCP and many other youth-serving organizations is that all youth are welcome at BGCP. They welcome any student who wants to join and they do not select participants based on achievement, ambition, or parental involvement. They believe all youth have the innate skills and talents to achieve a good education, acquire fair paying jobs and live fulfilling lives. BGCP takes on the responsibility of providing an environment where these skills can be nurtured and where students’ talents can blossom. 

Community members can support the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula by volunteering in their Community Dinners to-go program, or by donating. Learn more on their website (https://www.bgcp.org/).