A Lifeline to Youth and Hub of Woolsey Fire Relief, Boys & Girls Club of Malibu Honored By Senator Stern as Non-Profit of the Year

SACRAMENTO – For nearly two decades of work as the hub of youth and family services in the greater Malibu area, Senator Henry Stern honored the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu in the State Capitol today as the 2019 Non-Profit of the Year.

“There’s a reason the community leans so hard on the Club during large disasters or everyday crises. They are one the most well-administered, resilient and creative small non-profits in California,” said Senator Stern. “The Club has saved the lives of countless youth who could have been lost to suicide or addiction. They are a lifeline to families who have been forced into the shadows. And they were there during Woolsey to answer the call in our hour of need. Now we have to step up for them.” 

The Boys & Girls Club of Malibu was created in the aftermath of the Columbine shooting in 1999. Since then, the Club has grown to serve tens of thousands of youth over the decades,  providing services to a diverse population of children whose parents live or work in Malibu.

Among their many innovative initiatives, the Club recently established The Wellness Center, which not only provides no cost, bilingual mental health and wellness services during the school day or after hours but is also assisting with social and emotional learning curriculum in the classroom. Their Youth of the Year program continues to churn out champions, with statewide and regional honorees among their many graduates. During the Woolsey Fire, the Club became the epicenter of local relief efforts, diverting resources from their everyday services to deliver over $1.5 million in aid to 640 families.

Kasey Earnest, Executive Director of the Club, said, “It was never a question whether or not we should support the community at large through the fire relief effort, it was a process of how quickly we could mobilize to help the most people immediately, and I think we did”

Randi Goodman, Director of the Wellness Center, said, “Every time I am woken up in the middle of the night by a crisis call, I know the Club is where I need to be.”

Debbie Frank, Board Chair, said, “The fire relief effort consumed so much of our time and attention, and the staff worked tirelessly with no extra administrative funding. So we are grateful for Senator Stern’s public reminder that the Club still needs our help, and we’re going to be ramping our efforts to prevent a drop-off in other critical club services.”

Siugen Constanza, the linchpin of the staff for over a decade and advocate for the Club’s English-learning families, said, “No importa quien eres o de donde vienes, el Club es el lugar donde todos se sienten seguros, apoyados y queridos.” (“No matter who are you or where you’re from, the Club is a place for everyone to feel safe and secure and loved.”)

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