Bill would fund Boys & Girls Clubs statewide; organizers say grants support after‑school and summer programs in Title I communities

Ms. Betsy Hixson of Senator Gazzoni's office presented Senate Bill 880, which requests $250,000 annually in the Governor's Office for Children budget to provide grants to Boys & Girls Clubs of Maryland.

Hixson said the clubs operate in every county and Baltimore City and that, at the time of the hearing, there were over 80 programs serving about 25,000 young people, with plans to expand further. "These clubs are hubs to local communities and offer hope and opportunity to Maryland youth each day," Hixson said.

Samira Jackson, a representative for the Clubs, and Mark Picarelli, a longtime organizer who has helped start dozens of clubs, described how the funds would be used to support after-school programs and full-day summer camps, especially in Title I communities. Picarelli said the clubs provide academic support, healthy-lifestyle programming, leadership development and workforce-preparation activities. "We're not a gym where we're rolling out balls," he said, describing the Clubs' emphasis on evidence-based programming and staffed, facility-based services.

Witnesses said the state investment is matched by local boards and private donors and helps sustain programs that serve children whose families otherwise could not afford full-day summer options. Committee members asked whether clubs would have to close if the funding was not provided; witnesses said a loss of state funding would lead to difficult decisions about some operations in vulnerable communities.

Ending — Supporters urged a favorable report; the hearing closed without a committee vote. The bill had previously received unanimous support in the Budget and Taxation Committee and in the Senate.