Boys & Girls club ceo works hard to inspire city's youth
By: Imani Glaze
Vincent Lyles is paying it forward. Lyles does this by providing a safe place where kids can grow and learn.
Lyles is president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Milwaukee, where he is responsible for 37 school-based locations, six-legacy clubs, and one camp. He controls all this with a matrix style leadership that puts the manger in charge of a club site.
Lyles describes the Boys & Girls club as, “An organization working hard to inspire people and guarantee all possible opportunities for all youth.” He uses the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee to “serve as a bridge to kids’ success
The Boys & Girls Club is citywide and serves about 5,000 kids a day along with a staff of 500. The work being done at the Boys & Girls Club helps the community by keeping kids off the streets, while providing them with a safe environment.
Lyles wants the Boys & Girls Club to “be a place the community can count on to provide support and services to all kids.” Lyles wants to instill confidence in the kids that can give them the confidence to help improve the community.
Lyles says the most rewarding thing about his job is, “Seeing these kids grow, develop, and be more than what they were the day before.” For Lyles, it’s the little things such as having a shy kid open up.
Lyles wants people to know that, “The kids are in need of support and encouragement and that our kids aren’t broken.”
“I want people to understand that our community’s future is depending on the success of the kids served by the Boys & Girls Club and other organizations like it,” he said.
The Boys & Girls Club provides programs for youth ages five-to-18, but its efforts don’t stop at high school. The organization also has programs to help youth go to college.
Lyles wants to take the organization a step further by enhancing its programs to help young people to excel academically and “to become a much more effective advocate for our children.”
In order to fully succeed, Lyles stressed the importance of a college degree because that’s the key to success.
“These are your credentials. Once you get it (a degree), you can go,” Lyles said.
Through the Boys & Girls Club, Lyles encourages young people to “pay it forward” no matter where they end up.
Take LeBron James for instance. Everyone is so excited for him to come back to Cleveland, but he isn’t living in the same neighborhood where he grew up, said Lyles.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if the whole neighborhood was transformed, not just one person,” Lyles said. This is an analogy used by Lyles to express how he wants to use the Boys & Girls Club to transform not just the kids but also, the community through the kids.
As the Boys & Girls Club missions states, “To enable all young people, especially those who need us the most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.” Lyles does this and more to make sure this is fulfilled throughout all of Milwaukee.
“It’s more than just helping our kids; it’s helping our future because the kids of today are our future of tomorrow,” Lyles said.
Vincent Lyles is paying it forward. Lyles does this by providing a safe place where kids can grow and learn.
Lyles is president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Milwaukee, where he is responsible for 37 school-based locations, six-legacy clubs, and one camp. He controls all this with a matrix style leadership that puts the manger in charge of a club site.
Lyles describes the Boys & Girls club as, “An organization working hard to inspire people and guarantee all possible opportunities for all youth.” He uses the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee to “serve as a bridge to kids’ success
The Boys & Girls Club is citywide and serves about 5,000 kids a day along with a staff of 500. The work being done at the Boys & Girls Club helps the community by keeping kids off the streets, while providing them with a safe environment.
Lyles wants the Boys & Girls Club to “be a place the community can count on to provide support and services to all kids.” Lyles wants to instill confidence in the kids that can give them the confidence to help improve the community.
Lyles says the most rewarding thing about his job is, “Seeing these kids grow, develop, and be more than what they were the day before.” For Lyles, it’s the little things such as having a shy kid open up.
Lyles wants people to know that, “The kids are in need of support and encouragement and that our kids aren’t broken.”
“I want people to understand that our community’s future is depending on the success of the kids served by the Boys & Girls Club and other organizations like it,” he said.
The Boys & Girls Club provides programs for youth ages five-to-18, but its efforts don’t stop at high school. The organization also has programs to help youth go to college.
Lyles wants to take the organization a step further by enhancing its programs to help young people to excel academically and “to become a much more effective advocate for our children.”
In order to fully succeed, Lyles stressed the importance of a college degree because that’s the key to success.
“These are your credentials. Once you get it (a degree), you can go,” Lyles said.
Through the Boys & Girls Club, Lyles encourages young people to “pay it forward” no matter where they end up.
Take LeBron James for instance. Everyone is so excited for him to come back to Cleveland, but he isn’t living in the same neighborhood where he grew up, said Lyles.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if the whole neighborhood was transformed, not just one person,” Lyles said. This is an analogy used by Lyles to express how he wants to use the Boys & Girls Club to transform not just the kids but also, the community through the kids.
As the Boys & Girls Club missions states, “To enable all young people, especially those who need us the most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.” Lyles does this and more to make sure this is fulfilled throughout all of Milwaukee.
“It’s more than just helping our kids; it’s helping our future because the kids of today are our future of tomorrow,” Lyles said.