At Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska, Child Safety is Job No. 1
Ensuring child safety is fundamental to the mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska.
The Safety and Wellbeing of Young People is Our Number One Priority
We work every day to create a safe, fun environment so kids can have every opportunity to be successful in life. We have ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior of any kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct, and we put resources behind that stance.
Culture of Safety: Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska continually updates robust safety policies, programs and training for our staff and volunteers that are designed to promote child safety and protect young people from threats that are present in our society. We implement layers of safety policies and guidelines to keep our kids safe including:
- Staff wear ID badges.
- All staff and volunteers submit to background checks annually.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska conducts annual safety training for staff.
Safety Policies: Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska has comprehensive safety policies in place that protect youth – including, but not limited to, supervision, transportation, communication and prohibiting private one-on-one contact.
Child Safety Hotline: We take all concerns regarding child safety seriously. Please contact our CEO at 907-770-7349 or Senior Director of People Operations at 907-770-7343 if you have concerns. If you prefer email, please contact them at safety@bgcalaska.org.
Mandatory Background Checks: Mandatory criminal background checks are required on hire and every year for every staff at Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska. In addition, criminal background checks are required for any volunteer who has direct contact with children. All potential employees and volunteers are also run through the National Sex Offender Registry.
Required Immediate Reporting: Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska staff and volunteers are all mandated reporters. We are required to report any critical incident/safety concern to local authorities immediately. We are also required to report any critical incident to Boys & Girls Clubs of America within 24 hours.
Mandatory Annual Safety Assessments: We complete a safety assessment each year to ensure we continually make improvements to safety at our Clubs.
Safety Trainings: Ongoing training and supervision of staff is critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety training conducted such as seminars, conferences, and webinars. We also engage leading third-party safety experts to provide guidance for our policies and approaches, including Praesidium, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the National Children’s Advocacy Center.
Safety Committee: Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska has a dedicated safety committee comprised of staff and community leaders to provide input, guidance and accountability on local policies and safety strategies.
Mandatory Employee Reference: Any employee interested in moving to another Boys & Girls Club is required to have a reference from the previous Club, even if the Clubs are within the same community.
State and Local Laws: We comply with federal, state and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.
Safety Partnerships: Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America works with leading experts in the areas of safety, security and technology to develop state-of-the-art solutions for Clubs. Partners include:
- National Child Safety Advisory Task Force, made up of leading experts and organizations
- Blue Ribbon Taskforce, comprised of local Club leaders charged with providing input on the safety direction and key safety initiatives
- Mental Health First Aid, a national program that teaches skills to recognize and respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse
- Crisis Text Line, a confidential text message service for youth in times of crisis
Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has advocated the passage of the U.S. PROTECT Act, which improved background screening systems and access. The national organization has also partnered with the FBI, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Centers for Disease Control to contribute to the development of safety practices that benefit ALL youth-serving organizations.
America’s young people deserve nothing less than our constant focus on their safety and our firm commitment to protect every child who is entrusted to our care at Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska. To learn more about our national safety policies and actions, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Child Safety page, here.
Donor Privacy Policy
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska maintains the highest level of respect for the privacy of its donors. The following is our donor privacy policy, which guides our volunteers and staff on how they may and may not use your personal information while honoring your rights as a contributor.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska collects and uses personal information from donors that includes: name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and donor comments when a donor voluntarily provides it to us. In addition, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska keeps a record of each donor’s giving history. This information is kept on file for IRS purposes and is also used in our development process to analyze overall giving patterns in order to make accurate budget projections.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska does not sell, trade, rent or share names, addresses, telephone numbers, or e-mail addresses of our donors. Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska will use contact information (e-mail, telephone number and address) of donors for these purposes only:
- Distribute receipts for donations
- Thank donors for their donation
- Inform donors about news, upcoming fundraising events and other activities of Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska
- Internal analysis and record keeping
- Reporting to relevant U.S. and State agencies (these reports are not for public inspection)
- Contact donors about changes to this policy
As a rule, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska publicly recognizes a donor by publishing a donor’s name unless the donor explicitly chooses the “anonymous” field when making a donation by mail or online. Properly anonymized donor information can be used for promotional and fundraising activities.
If you have questions about this Donor Privacy Policy or if you wish to be removed from our e-mail/postal contact lists, then please email info@bgcalaska.org or write to:
Stefanie Ryan
Chief Financial Officer
Boys & Girls Clubs – Alaska
2300 W 36th Ave
Anchorage, AK 99517