New Boys & Girls Club Opens In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A new Boys & Girls Club has opened on the campus of Howard Community College. Officials gathered Thursday to celebrate the new facility.

Middle and high school youth will be offered educational opportunities, youth programming and community building activities at the new center. The program is free and there are no eligibility requirements outside of age. The program currently has space for 50 students with the opportunity to grow in the future. Club leaders hope to work with students from the nearby Wilde Lake and surrounding communities, officials said.

"As an organization, the Boys & Girls Club has made it their mission to provide mentoring and trauma-informed care for our young people, particularly those with the greatest need and who, but for the organization, might take the wrong path. This innovative collaboration between county government, Howard Community College and the Boys and Girls Club is the first of its kind in Maryland. We look forward to the impact and positive reverberations that it will bring to our community," said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball at an event announcing the initiative.

Howard County officials partnered with the Boys & Girls Club to establish a program at Laurel Woods Elementary School, which became the first Boys & Girls Club location in Howard County.

“Boys & Girls Clubs help teens recognize their potential and develop the skills they need to find and fulfill their unique path to a great future,” said Jeff Breslin, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore. “We can't think of a better setting for this journey of growth and self-discovery than on the campus of a higher education institution and we are grateful to County Executive Ball and the team at HCC for being gracious hosts to our Club.”