Off of Vermont, between 50th Street and 51st Street, there's a large grey-blue building. Driving by it, you probably wouldn't pay much attention to it, but if you take the time to step inside, you'll discover a whole world of opportunity for Los Angeles' youth.
"It's one whole city block in South L.A.," Hernan Garcia says. "But it is the diamond in the rough."
Challengers Boys & Girls Club is that building and it's been open since 1968. Garcia, the club's Athletic Director, sees the part that the club plays in giving local kids the chance at finding success.
Challengers serves as a place for youth in the area—from elementary school through high school—to have an oasis from their daily lives. As a high school student in Los Angeles, it can be difficult to find a place with continuous support, so that's exactly what Program Director and Teen Director Deric Daniels tries to provide to the teens at Challengers.
The club offers everything from sports to homework to leadership programs to job readiness training for teens. They even take them to the bank to teach them about money and how to save it. It's Daniels' goal to have each teen "how to be a better citizen in life."
Daily club attendance for the teens range from 10 to 25 students. While there is an elementary school on the campus, not all of the high schoolers attended this elementary school, it's a mixture between the two.
"I can honestly say that the kids that have been groomed and grew up in the club tend to stay longer than the ones that just come for the first time," Daniels said.
But, even teens who are first timers at the club can find their place.
Daniels smiles as he talks about one young man that currently attends Challengers.
"When you have that kid bought into everything that we're doing, and they like you," Daniels says. "It helps with the retention and they actually grow up through the club."
While the elementary school takes up most of the building space above ground, there's a place below ground for the teens. "The Challengers Boys & Girls Club Teen Center," also known as "The Club Lounge," lies below the main building and offers plenty of space for teens to do homework, play games, surf the internet, or just relax.
"Leaders in Training" is the name of the teen program at Challengers. The name echoes the leadership quality that Daniels tries to impart on the teens.
"Our kids themselves actually volunteer and do stuff around the club," Daniels says. "[Like] helping the younger members and showing their leadership ability."
On the academic side of things, the club's study space doubles as a college preparedness center. A number of college pennants line the walls. The collection is a mixture of colleges that former students attended and ones that the college advisor bought for the space. As a whole, the "College Bound" program serves as another outlet—outside of local high schools and support at home—to keep the teens focused on a plan to attend college.
"We have a goals sheet for them to set their goals," Daniels says. "We try to make sure we stay on that path and keep them in a straight line as much as possible."
The aspects of the program vary from having students bring their report cards in throughout the semester to establishing a relationship not just with the teens but their parents as well.
"GREAT FUTURES START HERE" is painted on one of the walls in the Teen Center. It's a reminder of the nationwide Great Futures campaign for teens at Boys & Girls Clubs.
To Daniels, the biggest key for the teens is consistency.
"Consistency is so big with them," Daniels said. "Whether that be the person in front of them or the things that they're doing."
Consistency is what keeps the teens coming back to the club. Garcia credits the club's success to its staff.
"We're a strong group, a very small group but a strong group," Garcia says. "We have a multitalented staff that can impact the kids on all levels."
It's all of these factors put together that make Challengers an oasis for the teens in the area. It's what's been keeping them coming back for more than 48 years.