VARIETY BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF QUEENS INC

The mission of Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. The Club was established 66 years ago by community members who saw a need for young people in Western Queens to have a place to go after school, on weekends, and during summer break. Serving over 4,000 young people in a typical year across five sites and four program areas, afterschool, summer camp, sports teams, and weekend workshops, VBGCQ is the largest youth development organization in Western Queens. VBGCQ’s mission manifests through programs that reflect our core service areas: The Arts, Health & Wellness, Sports & Recreation, Education, Career Development, and Character & Leadership. We provide a range of activities - arts programs like dance, theatre, visual arts, and film; fitness programs; homework help; cooking classes; and STEM programs like coding and robotics. Partnerships introduce programs like stage combat and script writing with Titan Theatre Company, engineering with Skanska, and trips to BioBus’s mobile science lab. Our programs are designed to expose kids to an array of skills and experiences while offering them a safe haven in which to learn, play, and grow into tomorrow's leaders. The VBGCQ Teen Center is a unique space in the Astoria and Long Island City community. Many of the local high schools do not have comprehensive afterschool programs due to lack of funding or lack of space. Within three months of being open, and with no formal marketing, the Teen Center had more than 100 registered members with new teens coming in each day. It is evident that this service is in demand and was not yet being provided elsewhere in the community. As the Teen Center continues to grow, the Club strives to offer a space where local teens can feel safe and supported while exploring extracurricular activities and furthering their education.