Mission and History
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central and Northern New Hampshire officially was formed in 2023, when the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central NH merged with the Boys & Girls Club of the North Country. Prior to that merger, the Boys & Girls Club of Central NH had grown significantly from its roots in Concord by opening sites in neighboring towns and merging with the Boys & Girls Club of the Lakes Region and Lakes Region Child Care Services. The organization now enrolls 2600 children and youth at 30 locations ranging as far south as Weare and north to Berlin.
Although the organization is wide-spread, our programs are rooted in their communities. To reflect this fact, we take a regional approach, with locations assigned to one of the following regions: Greater Concord, Kearsarge-Sunapee, Lakes Region, North Country, Suncook and Upper Valley.
“New Beginnings.” If there’s a phrase that sums up why we exist and how we came to be, that’s it. In each of our regions, community challenges inspired individuals to create new opportunities for children. They refused to accept the status quo.
For example, in the 1940’s, Concord police officers gave unruly boys a second chance by dropping them off at the new “Boys Club,” instead of booking them at the station. Later, the Concord Boys Club would be among the first in the nation to add “& Girls” to its name. In the Lakes Region in the 1970’s, a new mom unhappy with her options unknowingly launched what would become the Lakes Region’s largest child care provider.
In the 1990s, a 14-year-old’s tragic death inspired volunteers to open a teen center in Laconia. In 2003, Suncook piloted a new public-private partnership to reopen its recreation center. In 2005, alarmed North Country citizens transformed a former gym into a safe place for kids to go after school. In the 2020’s, despite challenges created by the pandemic, Kearsarge-Sunapee and Upper Valley town and school administrators prioritized new after school and child care programs for their rural communities.
Our mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.
