40. Community Need This project is designed to provide teens in the west Dayton/Miami Chapel neighborhood with a safe prosocial place to be after school and engage in career awareness, learn technical and soft skills, develop a plan for the future and find assistance to get afterschool and summer employment. The City has experienced significant issues over the past two years with teens "hooning" in west Dayton. The Club has seen the largest growth in teen membership and was recognized for having one of the largest teen membership growth rates in the county by BGCA, demonstrating that area teens are looking for a safe and positive place to gather. The Club teens report that career awareness, skills and help with getting a job as top priorities.

The neighborhood surrounding BGCD is home to our city’s poorest youth and teens. The risk factors facing these young people are significant, having a safe supervised space for over 100 teens to gather safely, get academic support, learn STEM skills will greatly benefit the neighborhood, the City of Dayton and the teens and families. It will also result in teens on a path to graduate, with a plan for the future. The teen programming is designed to use art and technology to engage youth in learning and career development, nurture leadership, build integrity and help their community. Through the Youth Development Center. teens will have access to daily academic support and the opportunity to identify a career path that ensures they graduate from high school with a viable plan; enrolled in college or trade school, enlisted in the military, or gainfully employed in an in-demand field. Currently the Club has 113 teen members and a waiting list due to space constraints.

The Club project is part of the Miami Chapel Inspire Zone and the three efforts together will transform that part of west Dayton. The Club is in an approved Opportunity Zone and is located in the 45417-zip code, identified in the Montgomery County Community Health Assessment and the Dayton Children’s Regional Health Assessment as a health priority area.

The data demonstrates that in Dayton, chronic absenteeism in middle school and high school has soared since the COVID-19 pandemic, with African American students once again faring far worse than others. Previous research has connected chronic absenteeism to increasing numbers of students leaving before completing high school and significantly impacting their long-term economic possibilities. The Greater Miami Chapel neighborhood and BGCD Club members are predominately African American.

BGCD is uniquely positioned to prepare our community’s youth to be effective, engaged and adaptive learners who are on track to graduate with a plan for the future.