Idea #1: “Bring a Friend Night”
What will we test and how?
Host a “bring a friend” night at the BGCA. We will test if implementing new events to the BGCA will increase the “cool” factor, and ultimately bring in more teens. When doing our interviews, we heard that one of the most exciting things about the club was the teen nights they would have. The goals of hosting this event will be for the friends to realize what the Boys and Girls Club can offer, as well as helping those that are already members realize it is a “cool” place. We can measure our results by going to the “bring a friend night.” We can survey the members of the club as well as their friends to see how they enjoyed it and if they would consider coming to more of these events.
Where will we test this idea?
We will test the idea at the gym of the Main BGCA location in South Bend.
Who will test this idea? And when?
We will test the idea as a group, by talking to members pre and post, that way we will be able to understand their thoughts going into it, and how/if they changed after the experience. We will also talk to the supervisors at the club who will be able to witness the event in its entirety.
Idea #2: Guest Lecturer/Guest Visitor
What will we test and how?
Bringing in a guest lecturer will give the kids another activity to participate in. This is something different and will add variety to their everyday experiences at BGC. Guest speakers can also allow them to learn about cool things and get to know about something they did not have prior knowledge to. We will test how the students respond to this activity-whether or not they like it. We will also test if we can get lecturers to come speak.
Where will we test this idea?
We will test this idea at the BGCA South Bend location.
Who will test this idea? And when?
Our team will survey the kids after the lecture and we will also be present to see how they are responding to the presentation.
Idea #3: Skype Volunteering
What will we test and how?
We will test out the viability of bringing in tutors to the BGC through Skype or other videoconferencing tools. Once we have assessed whether the BGC has the hardware needed to use Skype we will test the effectiveness of tutoring over the internet. After tutoring, we’ll ask kids for feedback on the process and perform a review of grades later to compare past and present performance.
Where will we test this idea?
We will test this idea at the BGC in South Bend, and the tutor will be at some other location.
Who will test this idea? And when?
One of our group or the Notre Dame club that volunteers at the Boys and Girls club will tutor some kids over the next two weeks on the Internet and our group will be at the BGC to oversee the process and ask students for feedback immediately after.