Our Mission + Story

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Boys and Girls Clubs provide safe places, caring mentors and life-enhancing programs that prepare kids and teens for great futures.

For more than 160 years, Clubs have opened doors of opportunity.

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Boys & Girls Clubs of America had its beginnings in 1860 with four women in Hartford, Connecticut – Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin, Elizabeth Hammersley and Louisa Bushnell. Believing that boys who roamed the streets should have a positive alternative, they organized the first Club. With character development as the cornerstone of the experience, the Club focused on capturing boys interests, improving their behavior and increasing their personal expectations and goals. A cause was born.

OUR VISION

Provide a world-class Club Experience that assures success is within reach of every young person who enters our doors, with all members on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, demonstrating good character and citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle.

OUR VALUES

We believe every kid has what it takes. The mission and core beliefs of Boys & Girls Clubs fuel our commitment to promoting safe, positive and inclusive environments for all. Boys & Girls Clubs of America supports all youth and teens.

OUR MISSION

To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

A Frankfort Club

Boys and Girls Club of Frankfort was established in 2025 by a group of community members alongside the Wanda Joyce Robinson Foundation. Our first home is at 231 E Main Street, Frankfort.

Hours of Operation
M – F 2:30-6:30pm during the school year.
*Closed during fall and spring break.
Open June and July, M – F 8am-5pm
In October 2023, Amy Snow, Executive Director of the Wanda Joyce Robinson Foundation, an organization that strengthens the lives of youth impacted by incarceration, connected with a western Kentucky businessman and advocate of the Boys and Girls Club of America. Through a series of conversations and a community impact survey, a clear need was identified–Franklin County children and youth were in desperate need of after school and summer programming. Boys and Girls Club of America, a 100+ year old organization, was an answer to this critical need and would provide resources and infrastructure to offer a safe place for Frankfort’s youth to thrive. Frankfort is one of only two state capitals in the country without a club and our community was determined to change this.
A group of local leaders, community partners and concerned citizens met monthly until the Boys and Girls Club of the Capital Area board of directors was formed in July 2024. The Capital Area board established the organization as a non-profit and provided the umbrella structure for additional sites, beyond Frankfort, to be created. In November 2024, the Franklin County Fiscal Court offered 231 East Main Street as a location for the Frankfort site. The Frankfort board began preparing the building for children with the help of numerous community agencies, volunteers, and the Franklin County Regional Jail women’s work crew. Currently, the board is gathering financial resources to meet budget needs and anticipates opening Fall 2025.

Meet Our Board

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We are committed to maintaining an environment that supports curiosity and academic excellence, emotional and physical well-being, integrity and ethical behavior.

Board of Directors

Beth Lodmell, Chair
Collins Lane Elementary School principal
Andrea Turner, Treasurer
Commonwealth Credit Union
Robin Winkfield, Secretary
Administrative Office of the Courts
Frank Miklavcic, Member at Large
Marian Hayden, Member at Large
Attorney at Law