The Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester launched its annual summer youth employment program during an onboarding event at the clubhouse last Thursday.

“Having the teens here again, having people on site, is really kind of exciting when you’re not used to seeing crowds,” said BGCD Vice President of Programming Mike Joyce.  “I see new faces, new people, new energy. I think it’s a good thing for all of us.”

More than 100 teens, ages 15 to 18, starting their jobs this week, on Tuesday. Onboarding sessions included discussions of payroll, responsibilities, and roles for the summer, according to Joyce.

The club also began “Safe Summer Streets” – a 31-year-old program designed to give teens a safe place to socialize during the summer nights – last Thursday. 

“On site here, we’ll have basketball, we’ll have swim, we’ll have career nights, we do a night with college alumni – former members who were in college talking about their experience,” Joyce said about Safe Summer Streets. “There’ll be art classes, music lessons, as many opportunities as we can provide in that window of time.”

Joyce, who has been at the club for 42 years,said he is excited to have teens back in person for the summer, especially since the program was mostly virtual last year. While the number of positions is similar to the pre-pandemic program, he said the number of participants is lower.

“We’re almost kind of rebuilding our teen program after having almost a year-and-a-half where our only contact with it was through virtual programming,” Joyce said. “So, getting folks back in and accustomed to being in the building is a little bit of a strategy at this point.”

The club is partnering with the City of Boston Youth Engagement and Employment, Private Industry Council, and John Hancock’s MLK Scholars Program for the summer employment program. Thursday’s event included TD Bank representatives as well, who came to share information on financial literacy and opening bank accounts.

“We get to expose them to what banking can look like, how easy it is to do correctly, and how it’s going to help set them up for success going forward,” said Justin Cross, store manager of South Boston’s TD Bank and former Boys and Girls Club volunteer.

“So it’s far more than just helping them have an account for their direct deposit. It’s trying to help get them on a financial path for success going forward.”

Jocelyn Sammy, a 19-year-old who has been coming to the club since she was in second grade, said she has worked in most departments of the Boys and Girls Club through the summer program. Now in college, Sammy will be working on the Safe Summer Streets program. 

“What really stood out to me was just the community that we built here. I think it’s really important, especially during times like this – to just have a strong union,” Sammy said. “We’re really close in a way, and obviously we have to be strong together in order to provide them a good time during the summer.”

Joyce, while happy to see new faces for the opening meeting, said he hopes the program can also get teens involved with the clubhouse in the future.

“The opportunity to have that many teens here, not only to assist us with the operation of the program, but also to engage after hours when the club is open for teens, it’s kind of a win-win,” Joyce said, “where we’re hoping they not only benefit from the work experience, but then stay engaged with the club as well.”