INVESTING IN OUR YOUTH, STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITIES

A study of the economic impact of local Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey conducted by Dr. Jamshid Damooei of Damooei Global Research.

Funded by The Sobel Family Foundation

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey serve a diverse community of more than 87,000 youths and their families. Every day, tens of thousands of students end their school day by heading to the Clubs. These youths are able to make friends and engage in programming that ranges from the educational to the recreational. Without the Clubs, many of these youngsters would be without proper supervision and susceptible to negative influences. The broader community also benefits by having these youths positively engaged and while it is easy to appreciate the work of the Clubs in emotional or social terms, it requires additional analysis to understand their monetary and economic value. By digging deeper, it becomes readily apparent that these social benefits create tremendous economic value in New Jersey.

CLUBS KEEP KIDS SAFE

Fostering a positive environment

Clubs play a pivotal role in reducing teen pregnancies, juvenile crime and violence among youth. Teen childbearing in the United States costs taxpayers at least $9.1 billion annually at the federal, state and local levels. For every $1 spent by the Clubs, $2 is saved for taxpayers on costs they would have incurred from teen pregnancies, underage drinking and on expenses for the criminal justice system annually.

CLUBS KEEP WORKING FAMILIES WORKING

Helping families to be economically productive

The safe environment that the Clubs provide children gives parents the ability to continue to earn a living and/or pursue education beyond the limits of a typical school day. The budgetary expenditures and productive labor of volunteers working for Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey create regional output, jobs and tax revenue across the state. 

CLUBS KEEP KIDS IN SCHOOL & ENSURE ACADEMIC SUCCESS

CREATING A BETTER FUTURE

Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey play a vital role in helping youth improve their academic outcomes. The Clubs provide a variety of services, including homework assistance and tutoring. 70.4% of parents agree that they have observed that their child’s performance has improved in school since attending the Boys & Girls Clubs.

The economic benefits created by Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey are substantial. One of the most promising findings is the very strong belief amongst members in the program that they will attend college, 9 out of 10 members stated they plan to attend after completing high school.

CLUBS KEEP KIDS HEALTHY

Improving the quality of life

Programs such as those provided in the Boys & Girls Clubs that encourage healthy habits are vital to the wellbeing of the community. Costs generated by medical expenses due to unhealthy lifestyle decisions are substantial to the economy. In 2009, the estimated national cost of obesity was $147 billion and the people who are obese spent almost $1,500 more per year on health care.

Our Club programs promote physical exercise and nutritional education. Members who participate in our athletic programs are shown to develop better fitness at an earlier age and thus demonstrate a healthy lifestylelater in life. These long-lasting health benefits may help counteract the troubling health and economic consequences.

This report provides an exhaustive enumeration of the many ways in which the Boys & Girls Clubs create economic value in the State of New Jersey. The Clubs directly and indirectly serve various community stakeholders; services: Club members, parents, and the communities. Clubs provide the community with constructive after school options that go beyond recreation, to promote education, healthy living and good citizenship. The Clubs’ services have real economic value. Using data collected through stakeholder surveys and a review of publicly available information, this report places a monetary value on these benefits and the findings are simply tremendous.

The study was conducted from July-August 2011 among 18 traditional Boys & Girls Clubs. The study included a survey of 1,234 randomly sampled youth/teens and 866 randomly sampled parents. The methodology and full report can be downloaded at here.

To make an investment in your community contact:

Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey
822 Clifton Avenue
Clifton, NJ 07013
973-773-0966 x151