The Boys and Girls Club of Springfield is an organization that offers before and after school care to kids from grades K-12. But what many might not know about the organization is that they also offer a wide variety of clubs, including the arts program — from drama, to fashion, to music and beyond. Students at this club get to pick their preferred creative outlet and further engage their understanding of it.
Elle Douglas, the music coordinator that oversees all Boys and Girls Clubs in Springfield, has a fun time planning the performances for the kids.
"Last year, we did our first annual fashion club with the MSU fashion department. We did a whole photoshoot with our third through fifth graders as well as a fashion show at the end of the semester," she said. "This past summer, we also held a club-wide musical."
The Boys and Girls Club hopes to put on another fashion show this winter and is currently preparing the kids for their own music video. Starting as young as kindergarten-age, kids will get the chance to learn a song and perform it as well as edit the video themselves.
These performances give students at the Boys and Girls Club something to prepare for and become passionate about, according to Douglas. Exposing kids to the performing arts at a young age, she said, introduces them to many different creative outlets that they can then carry with them for the rest of their lives.
"These performances are important for future career exploration and extra-curriculars," she said. "They are also important to showcase what they learn at the Boys and Girls Club. The parents can really engage in watching their kids."
For more information about the Boys and Girls Club and their performing arts program, visit https://www.bgclubspringfield.org/programs/arts