Our History
To view a quick history of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America 
click here
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley has been around since 1963, back when it began as one Club site – the Tempe Boys Club. A group of dedicated Tempe citizens started the Club in those early years and paid to keep it open and available to the children because they recognized a need for a place for boys to go to escape the boredom and dangers of the streets.
In 1980, the Tempe Girls Club merged with the Tempe Boys Club, staying at the same Boys Club location at Jaycee Park. In 1984 the Club changed its name to the Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley. This new site was the first Club organization in the state to become a Boys & Girls Club, providing valuable after-school programs to both girls and boys. Today, this site continues to be the location for the Ladmo Branch, Tempe of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley – an organization that now serves over 30,000 children annually at eleven branches.
For over 45 years, we have made it our number one priority to fill the opportunity gap and provide kids who come to us with a chance to build their talents, learn the value of contributing to others, and realize their dreams. The Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley is looking forward to another 45 years of providing hope and opportunity to young people.
Concerned citizens met to develop support for a Boys Club in Tempe.
1980
Boys Club merged with the Girls Club forming the Boys & Girls Club of Tempe.
1983
Property was donated in Chandler for a new Branch, which opened in September.
1986
The Tempe and Chandler Branches merged under a new corporate name: Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley. The Mesa Branch began operation and later that year became part of the Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley
1989
The Guadalupe Branch began offering program services in January within Frank Elementary School.
1991
The Gilbert Branch opened within Gilbert Elementary School and later moved to a permanent facility purchased through funds raised in the Youth Expansion Campaign.
1994
The Mesa Branch moved into a new 25,000 sq. ft. facility renamed the Grant Woods Branch. Dedicated space and full time staff members for teens at many facilities.
1995
The Mesa Arts Academy opened at the Grant Woods Branch. In addition to teaching standard core subjects, the Academy incorporates an arts curriculum specializing in drama, music, dance and the visual arts for students in Kindergarten through the eighth grade.
1996
The first Boys & Girls Club serving a Native American community in Arizona opened under our jurisdiction in Komatke on the west side of the Gila River Indian Community.
1997
Another branch was opened serving the east side of the Gila River Indian Community in Sacaton.
1998
The Apache Junction Branch merged with the Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley.
2000
The Williams Campus Branch opened on the Arizona State University Campus serving members of the broader Williams Campus community.
2001
The Thunderbirds Branch, Guadalupe opened in February 2001. The 24,000 square foot facility will serve more than 1,500 youth in the Guadalupe community.
2002
Donald Smith was named the National Youth of the Year representing 3.3 million Boys & Girls Clubs of America youth.
2003
The new Gilbert Branch opens. Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley celebrates 40 years of serving youth.
2006
The Queen Creek Branch opens at Queen Creek Elementary
Another Branch opens in Tempe at the North Tempe Multicultural Center, making this the second branch in Tempe for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley.
2010
Romonia Dixon of the Ladmo Branch is named Arizona State Youth of the Year and then won the Pacific Region title. She meets with President Barak Obama in The Oval Office in September. To read her story click here