The
A. O. Smith Foundation and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee are celebrating
their unique 70 year partnership this year; a relationship that precedes the official A.
O. Smith Foundation. While the Foundation has been active for 60 years, L. B.
Smith began to give back to Milwaukee even before the Foundation was formed.
The Boys & Girls Clubs
has been active in the lives of Milwaukee youth for 128 years. There are 44
clubs across Milwaukee. The Clubs aim to inspire and empower young people and ensure
that they realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring
citizens.
By making it their mission
to provide safety and programs that address good character and citizenship, as
well as college and careers, the club has successfully managed to become the
oldest and largest youth-serving agency in the city.
The neighborhood-based
organization gives youth access to role models year-round, after school and in
the summer. In the Milwaukee area, 43,000 young people are served annually by
the Clubs.
“Through an organized
program delivery, we can have an impact on the social and emotional health of children,
as well as their academic success and outlook for the future,” said Denisha
Tate, chief strategy officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee.
While the organization is
typically known for serving children, it actually supports club members through
college graduation. With the graduation plus program, the Boys & Girls Club
ensures that students attending college will have the resources necessary to earn
a degree and enter a career.
“We have found that the
hard part is not getting accepted to college. The biggest challenge is going to
college and graduating,” explained Denisha.
As an organization that
also values community involvement and education, the A. O. Smith Foundation has
worked hard to help the Boys & Girls Club achieve its goals. However, with
a partnership dating back to 1945, the organizations have a personal
relationship that extends beyond financial support.
Familiar faces from A. O. Smith
“The depth of A. O.
Smith’s involvement with us is really shown in Paul Jones’ commitment and
accessibility here,” said Denisha. “Many of the children have met him and know
of A. O. Smith by name. This removes the anonymity from the idea of corporate
leaders, and they become attainable people to admire instead of a name on a page.”
Former Chairman, President
and CEO, Paul Jones, was a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs board of
directors from 2006 to 2014 and often visited while club activities were in
session, making himself familiar to many of the children.
Roger Smith, director of
community affairs at A. O. Smith also regularly visits the Boys & Girls
Club. Last March, he toured the Don & Sallie Davis Club alongside President
and CEO, Vincent Lyles.
Spark Early Literacy Program
The Foundation’s most
recent pledge to the Boys & Girls Club was to their Decade of Hope Campaign.
The program was created to expand the footprint of the clubs and have companies
partner with them to improve certain areas.
The
Foundation chose to specifically help build their early literacy program,
because learning to read is a fundamental element of academic success.
“Our Spark
program includes 11 sites with 550 struggling readers who could not have closed
the gap to proficient reading levels without A. O. Smith’s commitment. This initiative
was created and supported here, but is now nationally recognized,” said Denisha.
Midwest Regional Boys & Girls
Club Conference
In 2012, the
Milwaukee Clubs hosted a Midwest conference for club representatives from 13
states. At the conference, a business community panel allowed the audience to
hear first-hand from companies regarding what they looked for in charities they
wanted to partner with, why they invested, and what made a good cause.
Paul Jones
was on this panel and the company also donated an A. O. Smith water heater as
one of the giveaway prizes.
“In this
instance, A. O. Smith partnered with us in such a meaningful way. The club
location that won this water heater was actually struggling with a broken
heater that they did not have the funds to replace,” described Denisha. “The
club representative was in tears when she won it. This level of generosity was
a personal triumph. It touched the roots of the organization in a way that a
check would not have been able to.”
For more
information about the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee visit www.boysgirlsclubs.org.