About Us
Mission
To enable and inspire all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.
Commitment
Our members are our number one priority. BGCPS is designed to build confidence, offer facilities and equipment for education and learning, act as a safe haven that deters members from dangerous situations, and employ professional and caring staff members to teach and promote these values on a daily basis.
Club Principles
We are constantly adding new programs, updating facilities, and engaging industry experts to support the needs of our members. The Club strives to represent the Board of Directors, donors, stakeholders and the Community, in delivering young leaders that display the core values of our organization.
Vision
We are committed to serving the youth in and around the City of Palm Springs. We strive to instill strong character, leadership skills, academic success and healthy living habits amongst our members and see them through to high school graduation. In doing so, we are committed to growing and retaining a solid membership foundation that will focus on pillars of community service, education, arts, and health and wellness.
Our Story
In January of 1948 the Boys’ Club of Palm Springs became incorporated as a nonprofit, charitable organization formed to serve the guidance and character building needs of the boys of the Palm Springs area. In 1958, over $18,000 was raised to build the current pathfinders’ children’s center clubhouse at 450 s. Sunrise Way.
Under the leadership of the Club’s first Chief Executive, Ray Lockwood, membership tripled within the first three years of operation and a swimming pool was added in 1962 with the help of the Palm Springs Pathfinders, a group of ladies dedicated to the welfare of children in Palm Springs. With funding from the United Trust (now the United Way), a gymnasium was added in 1965 to accommodate the increasing needs of the athletic program. That same year, Pathfinder Ranch was established to provide space for the activities in an outdoor setting unavailable at the main Clubhouse.
Enhancements made in the mid-1980s include a pool enclosure and the addition of a computer education program. Under the direction of the Club’s second Chief Executive, Jim Coston, a Girls Club building was added in 1989 to provide equal access for girls and to accommodate the increasing needs of single parent families.
Today the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs serves over 1,700 boys and girls annually, providing a wide range of after school, summer and winter programs in a safe and supervised environment. With the completion (spring 2002) of the Mary Bremer Patrick Teen Center, the Club is well positioned to meet the needs of an ever-growing number of Coachella Valley youths. The state-of-the-art building provides additional space and resources to serve older youth who today are faced with more serious and difficult challenges. In 2008, the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs and Pathfinder Ranch formed two separate non-profit organizations to better serve more youth and focus on the key resources that the children need to become outstanding citizens.
In 2016, the Club opened a new Health & Wellness Center geared towards encouraging our youth to live a healthy lifestyle. This Center has a yoga room, weight room and two teaching class rooms. This is where we run the nutrition classes provided by the County of Riverside for the Ready Set Swim program that is brought to our organization by Desert Healthcare District.