The Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County (BGCM) empower all young people — especially those who need them most – to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. Douglas Eagles, Executive Director, has led the charge on the Project LEAD program.

Employment opportunities in Asbury Park are limited, and for those opportunities that do exist, teens in our community are unprepared to succeed in a professional environment. In our effort to improve the overall quality of our teen programming, BGCM modeled Project LEAD after the highly successful Teen Life Internship program at New City Kids, a nonprofit youth development agency in Jersey City, New Jersey. The program provides a competitive year-long, paid, part-time internship that not only provides a job for teens in New City Kids’ youth development programs, but also includes a much broader, in-depth leadership development component as part of the professional development. Project LEAD utilizes the core elements of the Teen Life Internship which consists of three main components: paid internships, life coaching and professional development workshops.

As a result of the pilot year of Project LEAD…

• 100% of participants have a better understanding of steps necessary to enroll in college after the program.
• 100% of participants have a better understanding of what credit and credit cards mean after the program.
• 100% of participants have a better understanding of how to act appropriately in the workplace.
• 83% of participants have a better understanding of how to handle at work conflict.
• 100% of participants created a resume.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County (BGCM) empowers all young people—especially those who need it most—to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. Employment opportunities in Asbury Park are limited, and for those opportunities that do exist, teens in the community are often unprepared to succeed in a professional environment. Through Project LEAD, teens have access to professional development, life coaches and gainful employment to help prepare them for a successful future. Project LEAD is fueling entrepreneurship for those on the margins, reducing systemic barriers to economic excellence and championing a just and equitable society. 

BCGM remains committed to an unequivocal rejection of systemic prejudice, discrimination, and racism. They recognize it is their responsibility to ensure that they directly communicate with their Club members about their right to safety, health, dignity, and equitable opportunities in life. BCGM works to do whatever it takes to meet their social and emotional needs.