The Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County proudly announced that its Preventing Summer Learning Loss and Fostering Reading Engagement programs were a major success in Summer 2024. By utilizing The Juice® reading program, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County saw dramatic results with its Club members that positively impacted their reading levels and comprehension.

The Juice® is an innovative, online news platform that presents five original news stories on current events at four different comprehension levels, including features to meet the varied learning needs of our members. Through The Juice®, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County saw significant improvements in its members’ reading comprehension, increased awareness of current events, and enhanced communication and critical thinking skills.

“This marks our second successful summer utilizing this program, which is seeing incredible results in literacy development for our members. The summer slide for students is a real issue and we feel this program is making a monumental difference to combat it. It is incredible to see this helping our members grow into informed and engaged citizens, fully aligned with our mission to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible individuals,” said Jaene Miranda, President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County.

With almost 1,000 Club members participating, here are some of the extraordinary results from Summer 2024:

· Total of stories read was 171,511, which was a 44% increase from last year.

· The average number of stories accessed per member was an 87% increase from last year.

· Youth members expressing interested in using The Juice® next year reached 80%, despite 31% initially stating they did not enjoy reading.

The Club Members also saw increases in:

· Knowledge of current events

· Understanding and engagement with current issues

· Confidence in reading news stories

· Enjoyment of reading