BBF is not the only youth service organization in North Lawndale, nor, obviously, should it be.  Response to the needs of a community (most especially one as socio-economically imperiled as North Lawndale) must come from many sources. 

The social service community in North Lawndale is strong and is comprised of many fine organizations, a number of which we partner with in supplementing our own offerings. Some also provide services outside of our purview (infant/toddler care and Head Start, for example).  But in terms of those agencies that serve school-age children and young adults, the spectrum of programming we offer renders BBF unique among youth service providers in North Lawndale. 

Our current program offerings include:

• Family Services Program — Crisis intervention and counseling services for young people of all ages and their families.

• Project LEAD (Leadership, Education, Academic Development) — Academic, social and recreational programming offered year round to elementary school aged children. 

• Project LEEP (Leadership Ensuring Educational Progress) — A unique year round program designed to meet the needs of tweens and to prepare them for high school matriculation.

• TEEN Program — Programming for high school students that offers teens options for varying levels of engagement, from after school drop in hours to year round activities.

• BBF Memorial Scholarship and Career Guidance Program — College scholarships and career guidance services for youth preparing for and entering postsecondary life.

Through each of these programs, BBF encourages in youth development of a positive view of one’s self and one’s community.  North Lawndale’s rates of poverty, unemployment, crime and academic underachievement are disheartening; they are, of course, profoundly discouraging to those who live surrounded by the effects of such disadvantage every day.  Discouragement can lead to a deficit view of one’s self and one’s community, apathy, disconnectedness from the community and diminishment of individual human potential. 

BBF strives to prevent that kind of negativity by highlighting the unique assets of each child and encouraging him/her to develop those assets to better serve himself/herself and the larger North Lawndale community.  This assets-driven approach to service delivery fosters an achievement orientation that can boost individual confidence levels, strengthen personal resiliency and lay the foundation for community change and improvement one child at a time.