Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada’s proud heritage of service to young Canadians has its roots in Saint John, New Brunswick, where in 1900 a group of concerned local citizens set up a "public playground movement" to provide a safe place to play for children - particularly boys - from disadvantaged circumstances, with no place to go after school but the streets. The "Every Day Club", originally established as a winter location for the Playground Association, later became known as the East End Boys’ Club. The East End Boys Club of Saint John resulted from this initiative, becoming the first “Boys Club” in Canada. The Club’s original mission was “to give youth a chance to have some recreation and to see beyond the confines of their immediate situation.” Since those days, “Boys Clubs” have become "Boys and Girls" Clubs and have spread across the country, as a result of grassroots initiatives similar to the one in Saint John. The national organization was established in 1929 by Vernon McAdam, our first National Executive Director, and in 1948 received its official charter as a national, non-profit organization from parliament as the Boys' Clubs of Canada. In 1974, the name changed to Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to reflect the fact that services were also accessible to a growing number of young girls who had been participating in club programs for many years. Throughout our over one hundred year history, Boys and Girls Clubs in Canada have provided safe, caring environments and stimulating programs enabling some 3 million young Canadians to play, learn and develop skills to help them achieve their full potential as contributing adults, citizens and leaders. Today, the need is still great for the vital educational, recreational and skills development programs and services Boys and Girls Clubs offer in communities nationwide. In large city centres, remote rural communities and on First Nations reserves, Boys and Girls Clubs continue to help guide young Canadians toward responsible, fulfilling and productive adulthood. Clubs establish programs that reach out to young people, particularly those living in disadvantaged communities, in such non-traditional settings as shopping malls, schools, homeless shelters, group homes and on the streets. The ability of clubs to mobilize resources in response to the individual needs of the children in each community is one of our organization’s key strengths. Young people are our most precious natural resource. Today, Boys and Girls Clubs are dedicated to ensuring that they are given every opportunity to develop their fullest potential, so that they can meet the challenges of leading and building this country in the 21st century.