William Edwin Hall served as the unpaid president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America for nearly four decades. Through his leadership, it grew to become one of America’s pre-eminent charities, offering children a safe harbor and teaching them to become productive, responsible and caring citizens. His guidance and leadership took the organization from 43 Boys’ Clubs to more than 375 clubs and 350,000 members when he retired in 1954. It has been said that he, more than any one person, made it possible to offer young boys (and now girls) an alternative to a life of delinquency and unhappiness. Read more on William Edwin Hall.

Social issues William Edwin Hall addressed:
• Education
• Poverty
• Youth

Social issues that need to be addressed today:
• Education – 41 percent of fourth-grade boys and 35 percent of fourth-grade girls read below the basic level -- in low-income neighborhoods it is near 70 percent – lack of books affects literacy.*
• Drop Out Rates – High school dropout rates (by ethnicity, ages 16-24 -- 2008): Hispanic 18.3 percent, American Indian/Alaska Native 14.6 percent, Black 9.9 percent, White 4.8 percent, Asian/Pacific Islander 4.4 percent.**
• Poverty – Approximately 39.8 million are living in poverty (2008).***
• Youth –Youth who volunteer are less likely to engage in risky behavior, are more likely to feel connected to their communities and tend to do better in school.***

* www.firstbook.org
** http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16
*** http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf
*** http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/browse/volunteering-issues/ volunteer-management/doc/top-6-facts-about.html