The Boys & Girls Clubs of Appalachia traces its roots to Harlan County in 2003. Born from the inspired leadership of Tony and Tommie Saragas of Harlan County Youth Sports, our first Club started inside the walls of Loyall Elementary School. It moved to a store front in downtown Harlan until the permanent facility, the Cawood Ledford Boys & Girls Club of Harlan County was opened in 2007.
Since then, youth from both the city and the county gather at the Club, named for the University of Kentucky’s legendary sports announcer, and enjoy a games room, computer lab, healthy meals, mentoring, and homework help.
To better serve the teens of Harlan County, the Harlan Teen Club, a 21st Century Learning Community, was established in Harlan Independent School, where it still operates today.
Union College president Marcia Hawkins, a tireless Club advocate, partnered with our organization to trailblaze a new template for rural Clubs on college campuses, chartering the Union College Boys & Girls Club in Knox County.
As our organization spread out of Harlan County, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Appalachia was officially born. Today we serve the children of Appalachia at two traditional sites (Cawood Ledford Club and Union College Club), and three 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Harlan Independent, Black Mountain, and Tri Cities locations). Led by the dedication and tenacity of our CEO Kateena Haynes, in 2024 we look forward to the opening of the new gym at our Cawood Ledford location and more Clubs opening!
Each afternoon our organization provides a welcoming, stable, and loving atmosphere for hundreds of children and youth facing some of the hardest environments in which to grow up: poverty, parental absence, substance abuse, criminal activity, lack of supervision, and neglect.
Every school day, our organization brings research-based programs into local schools, teaching healthy habits and much-needed resiliency to children that may never get the opportunity to step foot in our Clubs.
Each week thousands of kids are served by our organization as we seek to inspire all young people, regardless of their circumstances to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens.
We are the Boys & Girls Clubs of Appalachia.
Union College Boys & Girls Club
Harlan Teen Club
Black Mountain Boys & Girls Club
Tri-City Boys & Girls Club
Boys & Girls Clubs provide safe places where young people can learn and grow. We believe every kid and teen deserves access to experiences and opportunities that change their lives for the better – regardless of their socioeconomic status, color of their skin, or other factors that contribute to inequities. Through caring mentors, innovative programming and an unwavering commitment to safety, Clubs across the nation do whatever it takes to support youth on their path to a great future.
Mission
To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.
Globally Competitive Graduates
When young people perform well academically, they graduate from high school on time, are motivated to learn and have a plan to succeed in today’s modern workforce. Among youth ages 12 to 17 living in households experiencing low income, Club members report higher grades than youth nationally.*
21st Century Leaders
Club youth are the leaders, innovators and problem-solvers of tomorrow – developing skills to be change agents in their communities and beyond. Club members in 8th, 10th and 12th grades volunteer at significantly higher rates than their peers nationally.*
A Healthier Generation
When young people live healthy lifestyles, they are able to make decisions that result in their social, emotional and physical well-being. Club teens are less likely to use drugs or alcohol and more likely to engage in regular physical activity than their peers nationally.*
