ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Ball, along with the Boys & Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore and Howard Community College (HCC), announced the opening of a new Boys & Girls Club located on campus at Howard Community College. Photos of the event can be found here.
As an organization, the Boys & Girls Club has made it their mission to provide mentoring and trauma-informed care for our young people, particularly those with the greatest need and who, but for the organization, might take the wrong path. This innovative collaboration between County Government, Howard Community College, and the Boys and Girls Club is the first of its kind in Maryland. We look forward to the impact and positive reverberations that it will bring to our community.
In his Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, Ball committed more than $220,000 to launch the program at HCC. Middle and high school youth will be offered educational opportunities, youth programming and community building activities that will address their overall well-being. The program is free, and there are no eligibility requirements outside of age. The program currently has space for 50 students with the opportunity to grow in the future. The Club will aim to recruit students from the nearby Wilde Lake and surrounding communities.
“Boys & Girls Clubs help teens recognize their potential and develop the skills they need to find and fulfill their unique path to a great future,” said Jeff Breslin, President & CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore. “We can't think of a better setting for this journey of growth and self-discovery than on the campus of a higher education institution, and we are grateful to County Executive Ball and the team at HCC for being gracious hosts to our Club.”
“I am excited about this new partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore and the Howard County Government,” said Daria J. Willis, President of Howard Community College. “This historic partnership will better serve the needs of families in Howard County, and perfectly aligns with HCC’s two-generational approach to serving students and meeting them where they dream.”
Prior to this collaboration at HCC, Howard County Government partnered with the Boys & Girls Club to establish a program at Laurel Woods Elementary School, which became the first Boys & Girls Club location in Howard County. In 2023, Ball awarded a $50,000 Youth Engagement Programming (YEP!) grant to the Boys and Girls Club to support their operations and program expansion at the Laurel Woods Club. In addition to these locations, the Boys & Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore also hosts summer camps in Howard County to serve young people and provide free summer engagement opportunities.
The partnership between the Boys & Girls Club and HCC is just the latest initiative by County Executive Ball aimed at providing youth with enriching opportunities. Since the launch of his Youth Engagement Programming (YEP!) grants in 2023, more than 8,000 young people across the county have participated in programs. In his FY25 Budget, Ball invested an additional $500,000 towards the YEP! program, bringing the County’s total investment toward youth programming to more than $1.5 million over the last two years.