Five Questions With: Jim Hoyt

Jim Hoyt has worked for 37 years at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket, taking on a variety of leadership roles that culminated in his promotion to CEO in 2004. He moved from aquatics director in 1977 to unit director of the Alfred Elson Jr. Clubhouse in 1979. When he became director of operations in 1990, he was responsible for managing the daily operations of the entire club. Here he discusses the latest developments at the still-growing nonprofit.

PBN: You have had a lengthy tenure at the Boys & Girls Club. What do you consider your most important accomplishments to date?
HOYT:
My tenure at the club has spanned decades and surely been my life’s work. Over this time, I have had the privilege to work with countless youth. Nothing makes me more proud than when they return as adults, to either volunteer or work at the club, or to sign up their kids as members.
My time as CEO over the last decade has also been extremely rewarding. The key my success, and our success as an organization, has been hiring the right people, and building a committed team of volunteers, successful and highly sought-after business and community leaders, to govern the organization.
All of this happens behind the scenes – but what our kids see and feel is that, every day, they come to a safe place, a fun place, a place where they can rely on consistent relationships with positive adult role models and have a chance at a better life. Our kids deserve nothing less, and we are proud to say that we change, and even save, the lives of our members.
And in just a few short months, we will cut the ribbon on our Building Better Futures historic expansion and renovation project, which will allow us to serve more kids, and to serve them better.

PBN: Describe those development plans and the timetable for completion.
HOYT:
In March of 2014, we broke ground on our project. A newly designed and enhanced Clubhouse will provide a new Teen Center and gym, centralized visual and performing arts spaces, and better functionality in our pre-teen area, which will reduce overcrowding in education, technology, at mealtime, and beyond – and allow for safer, more controlled access to the building.
Construction has been moving along swiftly with an expected completion by year’s end and an official ribbon-cutting in January of 2015. We are working hard to complete our $8 million capital campaign and will soon be shifting gears to raise additional endowment funds to support our increased operations.

PBN: How many club members do you have and what are you doing to increase membership?
HOYT:
We have more than 4,000 members, but our focus is much more on increasing depth of service to our members. So, it’s not only about getting bigger, but much more about providing better, more comprehensive services to our members.
With the renovation of space and addition of a new Teen Center, the goal of our Building Better Futures project is to double our average daily attendance from 250 youth each day to 500.
Naturally, we expect that our membership will increase a bit, but we are even more excited about the fact that we’ll see more of our members more often – which means increased opportunities for engagement and participation.

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PBN: This past week, Cox Communications and the James M. Cox Foundation celebrated the grand opening of the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket Pre-Teen Technology Center. How will Cox’s $25,000 donation improve access to technology for Club youth?
HOYT:
We are incredibly grateful to Cox Communications for investing in our project in this meaningful way. This lab will provide our pre-teen members with access to the latest technology, all within a safe and controlled environment. Our kids will be able to do homework, research for projects, and so much more. With so many college applications taken online and jobs posted on employers’ websites, access to computers and the internet are vital to our kids being academically and professionally successful.

PBN: How do you leverage the power of club alumni to support the mission?
HOYT:
We are incredibly lucky to have a long history of alumni who consistently give of their time, talent and treasure. We are especially grateful to those committed and involved alumni who have served and are currently serving in volunteer and leadership positions.
Admittedly, because of the volume of members who have benefitted from our services since 1900, we have lost track of many alumni. We are always excited to hear from alums who have reached back to us to reconnect. Consider this an open invitation to anyone who was one of our members: I’d love to have you in for a tour, to hear about your experience here, and to share about the amazing things that are happening at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket!

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