NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 2 Community Resources
Student Name
Capella University
NURS-FPX 4060 Practicing in the Community to Improve Population Health
Prof. Name
Date
Community Resources
The Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA) is a non-profit national organization established in 1860 in Hartford. Four women named Elizabeth Hamersley, Louisa Bushnell, Alice, and Mary Godwin established this organization after realizing that youth and adolescents given opportunity and guidance can become productive citizens of the country (Enns et al., 2022). Now, the club serves more than three million children and teenagers nationwide, with more than four thousand autonomous clubs. BGCA provides after-school programs to promote physical, mental, and emotional support for social well-being and enhance quality of life (Enns et al., 2022). This report aims to comprehensively analyze how BGCA promotes health, safety, and social well-being. It promotes equitable educational and social services to children and adolescents. Further, it presents the organization’s mission, vision, services, and impact in light of resources, policies, and regulations on service delivery.
Mission, Vision, and Public Health and Safety Improvements
BGCA’s Mission
BGCA’s mission is to develop the character of children and youth through educational and social skill development. The mission is to help children in need reach their full potential to make them responsible and productive citizens. It promotes wellness in academic, character, health, arts, and recreational areas for all children (BGCA. (2023a).
BGCA’s Initiatives
To fulfill its mission, BGCA has introduced five major program categories with numerous activities in these programs to enable children and youth to excel in academic, career, health, and social areas of life. The five programs include education and career, character and leadership, health and life skills, arts, sports, fitness, and recreation (BGCA, 2023a). An example of a program is Triple Play, which involves mind, body, and soul activities.
BGCA’s Vision
The vision is to mitigate negative aspects of society like delinquency, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, violence, and unproductive lifestyles. The organization’s vision is future-oriented, and it wants to help, train, and enable teenagers’ personal development. It wants teenagers to develop good character, responsible citizenship, and a healthy lifestyle (BGCA. (2023a). The initiatives align with the vision of the organization as programs engage children and youth in productive activities.
Promoting Equal Opportunity and Improving Quality of Life
BGCA promotes a safe, positive, and inclusive environment for all children and teenagers so they can thrive in society. It runs numerous programs and has taken strategic initiatives to provide services inclusively irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, gender, or ability. The organization addresses physical, social, cultural, and economic barriers to ensure all teenagers can excel in all areas of life.
Physical Barriers
Teenagers have a high chance of luring into street crimes or falling into drug abuse and becoming inactive. Physical fitness is essential to promote teamwork and resilience(Pedersen et al., 2021). BGCA’s physical fitness and recreational program aims to close the gap in health and well-being. The organization develops accessible facilities where teenagers can join programs inclusively with the assistance of diverse staff and volunteers. The accessibility for all children is promoted by Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and the website is developed for easy access(Arief et al., 2020). The organization is located in different places to overcome physical barriers, such as schools, military bases, public housing, rural areas, and Native lands.
Social and Cultural Barriers
Racism and inequity are lingering in the country due to a diverse population. However, BGCA aims to overcome these social and cultural barriers by onboarding diverse team. Training and education help overcome social and cultural barriers, including language and cultural background understanding (Latif, 2020). The organization arranges workshops and training sessions for its staff and volunteers to discuss the culturally sensitive approach and provide service delivery irrespective of any social or cultural factor (Latif, 2020).
Economic Barriers
The organization is supported by famous brands like The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Forever 21, PUMA, Apple, Neiman Marcus, and many more. These companies generously contribute to prevent financial constraints for youth development. BGCA organizes career counseling, skill development, and educational programs for youth to choose a financial path. These programs eliminate racism, bring equity and promote inclusivity in society. Relationships with funding bodies is important to counter challenges related to lack of funds and barriers in donation management. (Mirzadeh Koohshahi, 2023). It improves the community’s economic state and lower crime rates due to higher literacy rate and employment opportunities.
Impact of Funding Sources, Policy, and Legislation
Funding
Adequate funding is required to run the services, maintain facilities, and ensure the well-being of BGCA members. These resources enable children and youth to thrive in programs offered at the organization (Mirzadeh Koohshahi, 2023). It helps enhance children’s and youth’s safety, health, and skill development. The funds are received from public governing bodies, corporations, philanthropic foundations, and individual donors at annual fundraising campaigns. Lack of funds can hinder seamless, inclusive, and diversified service delivery nationwide (Mirzadeh Koohshahi, 2023).
Policy
Policies aligned with educational promotion, skill development, physical and mental health progress, and career development by the government can help shape the organization’s policies and enhance quality of life for children and youth (Ressler et al., 2021). BGCA also aligns its mission and vision with policies. For instance, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) promotes means to achieve individual goals and contribute positively to society. Similarly, health policy and anti-drug policies encourage the organization to make youth safe from drug abuse. Lack of positive policy implementation can create challenges and unproductive results in society (Ressler et al., 2021).
Legislation
Laws help with regulating the environment, streamline funding, provide facilities, and fulfill program requirements (Sanadgol et al., 2022). BGCA utilizes after-school program support from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Rehabilitation Act, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC). These laws align with BGCA’s educational, health, career, and safety requirements for children and youth who are unsupervised and in need of financial assistance or guidance.
Impact on Health and Safety Needs of Community
BGCA has an excellent commitment to the health and safety needs of the community through positive workforce and community engagement. First, it provides a safe and productive environment after school that otherwise will lead to an unproductive and risky environment. The organization promotes inclusive and diverse community services so children and youth feel safe, welcomed, and trusted (BGCA, 2023b). It provides structured programs, activities, and mentorship for youth to help improve their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. These positive aspects of an organization ensure better service delivery (Ouellette et al., 2020). Community partnership and engagement improve social relationships. 97% of BGCA members expect to graduate, 75% have participated in community programs, and 89% feel confident they can voice their thoughts and support their ideas (BGCA, 2023a).
Collaboration of Nurses with BGCA
Nurses play a vital role in collaborating with BGCA to promote safety and health. Nurses contribute knowledge and skills to teach preventive measures like hygiene practices (Flaubert et al., 2021). They help in emergency cases and teach first aid practices to staff and members. Nurses do regular screenings, monitor physical and mental progress with regular check-ups and improve well-being. They collaborate with family members to adhere to medication and counseling support for anxiety or stress. Nurses at BGCA also ensure that inclusive health practices promote cultural competencies within the organization. Lastly, nurses can train other staff members about health practices and policy development depending on the needs of children and youth (Flaubert et al., 2021).
Conclusion
In conclusion, BGCA is a national non-profit organization that promotes the overall well-being of children and youth. It utilizes funds, policies, and legislation to promote educational, health, and social well-being. BGCA collaborates with nurses to promote health benefits by teaching, training, and service delivery.
References
Arief, R. S., & Kaija Saranto. (2020). Effectiveness of web accessibility policy implementation in online healthcare information. Studies in health technology and informatics, 270, 1108–1112. https://doi.org/10.3233/shti200334
BGCA. (2023a). Boys & girls clubs of America – providing millions of kids and teens a safe place to develop essential skills, make lasting connections and have fun. bgca.org. https://bgca.org/
BGCA. (2023b). Boys & girls clubs of America names H Walker as diversity, inclusion & equity officer. Www.bgca.org. https://www.bgca.org/news-stories/2021/February/BGCA-Names-H-Walker-as-Diversity-Inclusion-Equity-Officer
Enns, J. E., Nickel, N. C., Chateau, D., Katz, A., Sarkar, J., Lambert, D., & Brownell, M. (2022). A longitudinal cohort study of participation in the boys & girls clubs of Winnipeg. International journal of population data science, 7(1), 1735. https://doi.org/10.23889/ijpds.v6i1.1735
NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 2 Community Resources
Flaubert, J. L., Menestrel, S. L., Williams, D. R., & Wakefield, M. K. (2021). The role of nurses in improving health equity. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National academies press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573898/
Latif, A. (2020). The importance of understanding social and cultural norms in delivering quality health care—a personal experience commentary. Tropical medicine and infectious disease, 5(1), 22. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed5010022
Mirzadeh Koohshahi, M. (2023). Explaining the barriers to donor participation in the field of health: A qualitative study. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 85(9), 4378–4384. https://doi.org/10.1097/MS9.0000000000001109
Ouellette, R. R., Goodman, A. C., Martinez-Pedraza, F., Moses, J. O., Cromer, K., Zhao, X., Pierre, J., & Frazier, S. L. (2020). A systematic review of organizational and workforce interventions to improve the culture and climate of youth-service settings. Administration and policy in mental health and mental health services research, 47(5), 764–778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-020-01037-y
Pedersen, M. R. L., Hansen, A. F., & Elmose-Østerlund, K. (2021). Motives and barriers related to physical activity and sport across social backgrounds: Implications for health promotion. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(11), 5810. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115810
NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 2 Community Resources
Ressler, R. W., Paxton, P., Velasco, K., Pivnick, L., Weiss, I., & Eichstaedt, J. C. (2021). Nonprofits: A public policy tool for the promotion of community subjective well-being. Journal of public administration research and theory, 31(4). https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muab010
Sanadgol, A., Doshmangir, L., Khodayari-Zarnaq, R., & Sergeevich Gordeev, V. (2022). Role of non-governmental organizations in moving toward universal health coverage: A case study in Iran. Frontiers in public health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.985079