Enabling all young people, especially those that need us most to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

About the Boys & Girls Club

Did you know??

The Boys Club of Valdosta was first established in 1944.

Our Story

From the Boys Club to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Youth Center, and finally the Boys & Girls Club of Valdosta, our organization has been serving children through academic enrichment, sports and healthy lifestyles, and character development for over seven decades.

More than just an afterschool program, we provide our community's children a safe place to learn and grow every day afterschool and during the summer.

How did we start?

Well, on January 22, 1944, Henry Hicks, Comer Cherry, and R.H. Blankenship, our original Board of Directors, met together to discuss opening a place where boys could come, spend time with friends and mentors, and find a safe place to go while their fathers were at war and their mothers at work.

And though the need was different then than it is now, our mission remains the same: serving our community's young people, providing opportunities for healthy lifestyles, character development, and academic enrichment, while enabling them to reach their fullest potentials.

With 5 sites forming over the span of over 75 years, the Club continues to be a safe place for boys and girls all across our communities to learn and grow.

We are the Boys & Girls Club of Valdosta.

Other facts that could be used?...

In 1979, the Boys Club and Girls Club merged to form the Boys & Girls Club of Valdosta, coming to exist at what is now the Reames unit in downtown Valdosta. In 1981, the Lake Laurie site was added through funding from the "For a Better Tomorrow" campaign. 

Baseball fields were built at Lake Laurie, in Remerton, and also Lake Park, and sports exploded through the Boys & Girls Club.

Valdosta Parks and Recreation now runs sports in Valdosta and Lowndes.

Our Story