The Boys & Girls Club McKee Branch not only offers children of Fountain Hills a safe environment to spend their free time, but also offers them a chance to develop leadership skills while becoming more involved in the community through volunteer opportunities.

Boys & Girls Club members from the ages of 11 to 13 can choose to participate in the Club’s nationwide program known as the Torch Club.

“Torch Clubs are chartered, small-group leadership and service clubs,” Jarrin Rozenblad, Teen Specialist at the McKee Branch explained. “Torch Club is a powerful vehicle through which Club staff can help meet the special character development needs of younger adolescents at a critical stage in their development. McKee Branch's Torch Club is named #FHTORCHLIFE and had 15 members participate throughout the 2017-2018 school year”

The Torch Club is designed to prepare its younger members for the next step in participation and service, the Keystone Club.

Keystone Club is similar to Torch Club in its aim to develop leadership skills and connect Boys & Girls Club members with community service opportunities. The only difference is that the teens in Keystone are older than Torch Club members.

In most Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation the Keystone Club is the more activate of the two clubs, but this was not the case in Fountain Hills for the 2017-18 school year, according to Rozenblad.

“We have a very diverse and fun group of youth, in different grades,” he said. “The kids have been full of excitement since the first day and the group continues to grow, which is encouraging. They like serving together and having new experiences”

The McKee Branch Torch Club focused on four specific areas of improvement during the past school year.

“Torch Club members work together to implement activities in four areas: service to the club and community, education, health and fitness, and social recreation,” Rozenblad said.

Some of the Torch Club’s service activities were as simple as going to a different side of the McKee Branch’s building to help younger children with academics like reading.

“For service to the (Boys & Girls) club, Torch Club did two programs in which they were able to be mentors to the youth side kids,” Rozenblad said. “One [program] was Bright Spot for Reading, in which the members and other teens would be partnered up with youth side members for a quiet reading time.”

Other activities had the group of 11- to 13-year-olds form partnerships with clubs in town.

“For community service, Torch Club has partnered with the homeschool Gifted Hands Interact Club, the Local Fountain Hills Rotary Club and other Torch Clubs throughout the organization,” Rozenblad continued. “Some of the community service projects included Feed My Starving Children, Bob's Free Bikes and Crutches for Africa.”

The children participating in the Torch Club have impressed their community partners with their growth over the year.

“Experiencing the youth maturing and stepping into leadership positions at McKee and in their lives has been rewarding and fulfilling for our club,” Tony Pistilli, Youth Chairman at the Fountain Hills Rotary Club said. “It has also given us the opportunity to help with funding some in-house projects to enhance youth experiences at the club.”

Rozenblad and other staffers at the McKee Branch were so impressed with the work the Torch Club did this past year that they decided to take the club to the Torch Club Summit.

“Torch Club summit is a chance for Torch Club’s from around the region to come together for a getaway weekend in the beautiful California Hills,” Rozenblad explained. “This was our first year attending as a grant was found to allow for a bigger facility for the hosting organization, Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica.”

While the summit offers fun activates for the children it also sets aside times for the kids to talk about the service they completed in the past year.

“The kids arrive and are put into family groups to get to know the kids from other clubs,” Rozenblad said. “While in these family groups they do archery, high ropes, boating and other camping activities. Outside the family groups there are session on community service, event planning, officer training and more to serve as a networking/training opportunity for all members.”

After a strong year for the McKee Branch Torch Club, Rozenblad is excited for what the future holds.

“As interest and numbers continue to grow with Torch Club, the sky is the limit,” Rozenblad said. “These kids continue to surprise and amaze me every day. There are so many things they can do that have not been done yet. I would like to start expanding our reach and impact in the current community.”