An increasing number of children are left alone without adult supervision until late hours at night. That is why the Boys and Girls Clubs of America decided that something needed to be done. BGCA, a nonprofit organization dating back to 1860, have grown to encompass organizations in all 50 states and some international military bases. It serves more than 4.8 million boys and girls.

The BGCA offers many programs that enhance and develop a sense of competence and belonging to many of the nation’s youth in order to achieve their mission, which is “to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.”

Locally, the Boys and Girls Clubs of New River Valley does its fair share to make an impact on the community. With clubs at Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Shawsville Middle Schools, more than 600 youth are served in the after-school programs. For just $5 a year per child, youth can be enrolled in the club, which will give them tutoring, character-development programs, and other skills to help them grow.

Amanda Melniczek, with an undergraduate degree from Emory & Henry College and a graduate degree from Radford University, saw a great opportunity to get involved in service organizations while at E&H. Melniczek was the recipient of a community service scholarship, which required her to complete 10 hours a week in a particular site. When she looked at her schedule, an after-school program fit best. She jumped right in and stayed for her full four years in Emory, Va. In this service site, Melniczek had the opportunity to work with several small children one on one.

After graduation, she worked at jobs including a political campaign and at Main Street Radford. “After doing economic development for a few years, the opportunity to use my public relations skill set to help children again came available,” Melniczek said. That opportunity was to become an Area Director with the Boys and Girls Clubs of New River Valley.

Melniczek’s job varies so much day-to-day that she never knows what each day holds. From meetings with the Chamber of Commerce to press calls and meeting potential donors, some may think that her job means just pleading for money.

But it’s more than that. Without being up to date on every aspect of the organization, Melniczek could lose a potential donor by not being able to inform them fast enough or could lose a potential press opportunity by not making it interesting enough to the local media. All these things tie in to the fact that someone, somewhere will see it and decide to help the youth of the New River Valley.

Overall, the Boys and Girls Clubs of New River Valley tries to take local kids and show them how they can be active, valuable members to their community and overall society. An example of that would be the BGCA’s national Partnership with the Gap Organization and how the local BGCNRV is taking advantage of that with the opening of the new Old Navy store in Christiansburg. The Gap Organization encompasses Old Navy, Banana Republic and Gap stores and does a job-shadowing program with the Boys and Girls Clubs. These job-shadowing events give the local clubs an opportunity to earn up to $1,000 grants for their clubs and anything they may need. Because nonprofit organizations function off of grants and donations, these national partnerships can give them a lot.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of New River Valley is hosting a job-shadowing day at to 5:30 p.m. The youth will have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of the retail industry by assisting customers, cashiering, working in the stockroom and learning how the employees fill merchandise on the floor. Middle school age youth are soon going to be able to enter the part-time workforce and this gives them valuable hands on experience in a job setting.

BGCNRV is also looking to host another job shadowing day with the Gap store in the New River Valley Mall sometime in December.

Another national partnership that the BGCNRV is involved with is Taco Bell. Every year, Taco Bell sells Bells for Kids for $1 to benefit the local Boys and Girls Clubs. They sponsor the job-shadowing days as well. These job-shadowing experiences help to enhance character and career development, two fundamental goals of the Boys and Girls Clubs. “It may be a few years before they can enter the job world, but this gives the children experience in a likely setting for a future part-time job,” Melniczek said.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of New River Valley has an impact on the youth of the community. It keeps them involved and interacting with children their own age while giving them the proper adult supervision. For additional information on the Boys and Girls Clubs of New River Valley please e-mail Melniczek at amandam@bgcswva.org or visit www.bgca.org for information on the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Sara Blankenship is a senior at Radford University majoring in Communication and Media Studies. Originally from Abingdon, Va., she now resides in Charleston, W.Va.