Club Safety

Ensuring Child Safety Is Fundamental To The Mission Of Our Club


The Safety and Wellbeing of Young People is Our Number One Priority.


We work every day to create a safe, fun environment so kids can have every opportunity to be successful in life. We have ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior of any kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct, and we put resources behind that stance. We comply with federal, state and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.


Culture of Safety: The Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg/Leominster and Gardner continually updates robust safety policies, programs and training for our staff and volunteers that are designed to promote child safety and protect young people from threats that are present in our society. We implement layers of safety policies and guidelines to keep our kids safe including:

  • Monthly Fire Drills
  • ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate)
  • State and National: Criminal Offender Record information (CORI) & Sexual Offender Record information (SORI) & First Advantage


Safety Policies: The Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg/Leominster and Gardner has comprehensive safety policies in place that protect youth – including, but not limited to, supervision, transportation, communication and prohibiting private one-on-one contact.


24-hour Toll-free Child Safety Hotline: We encourage all staff, members and families to report any incident or situation they feel is unsafe. Through our national partnership with Praesidium, one of the nation’s leading safety experts, The Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster members and staff have access to a confidential 24-hour toll-free Child Safety Hotline, 866-607-SAFE (7233) or email SafeClub@Praesidiuminc.com.

Mandatory Background Checks

Mandatory criminal background checks are required every year for every staff and board member at The Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg/Leominster and Gardner. In addition, criminal background checks are required for any volunteer who has direct contact with children. All potential employees and volunteers are also run through The Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg/Leominster and Gardner.

Required Immediate Reporting

The Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg/Leominster and Gardner staff and volunteers are all mandated reporters. We are required to report any critical incident/safety concern to local authorities immediately. We are also required to report any critical incident to Boys & Girls Clubs of America within 24 hours.

Safety Training

Ongoing training and supervision of staff are critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety training through seminars, conferences, webinars. To name a few that are conducted on-site are Mandatory Reporter Training, In Plain Site, Narcan Training, and Mental Health Awareness Training. We also engage leading third-party safety experts to provide guidance for our policies and approaches, including Praesidium, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the National Children’s Advocacy Center.

Committees & Partners


The Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg/Leominster and Gardner has a dedicated Safety Committee to provide input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies. Priorities and initiatives include:

  • Board Members being versed in facility safety policies
  • Members and Staff being RAD trained
  • 24/7 surveillance of facility all doors locked with buzzing system


Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America works with leading experts in the areas of safety, security and technology to develop state-of-the-art solutions for Clubs. Partners include:

  • National Child Safety Advisory Task Force, made up of leading experts and organizations
  • Blue Ribbon Taskforce, comprised of local Club leaders charged with providing input on the safety direction and key safety initiatives
  • Mental Health First Aid, a national program that teaches skills to recognize and respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse
  • Crisis Text Line, a confidential text message service for youth in times of crisis


Locally, The Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg/Leominster and Gardner partners with:

  • Leominster, Fitchburg, and Gardner Fire Departments
  • Leominster, Fitchburg, and Gardner Police Departments
  • Leominster Emergency Management

Boys & Girls Clubs of America has advocated the passage of the U.S. PROTECT Act, which improved background screening systems and access. The national organization has also partnered with the FBI, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Centers for Disease Control to contribute to the development of safety practices that benefit ALL youth-serving organizations.


America’s young people deserve nothing less than our constant focus on their safety and our firm commitment to protecting every child who is entrusted to our care at The Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster. To learn more about our national safety policies and actions, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Child Safety page, here.

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