12/9/25: Important Update About Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska

Dear Parents & Caregivers,

After weeks of analysis, bridge-funding efforts, and restructuring work to address a financial situation years in the making, the Board of Directors has made the deeply painful decision to cease operations of our Clubs and licensed Childcare. This means an end to all current programs and services – all Clubs, licensed Childcare Development Center at Woodland Park, and licensed afterschool care at Turnagain Elementary. 

We know how heavy this is to read. For 60+ years, this organization has been part of childhoods, family routines and careers across Alaska. The Board and leadership do not take this decision lightly. There is no single cause or decision that led us here. It is the result of financial realities that have built over time and that we have not been able to overcome, despite every effort.
Our goal is to close in an orderly way and then, we hope, work toward rebuilding a smaller, “right-sized” model in the future.

What is changing and when
Licensed Child Development Center at Woodland Park and afterschool care at Turnagain Elementary will close.

The last day of care for children will be December 24, 2025.
The last day of employment for all Child Development Centers staff will be December 26, 2025.
The last day of employment for Club staff who have been on furlough will be December 9, 2025.

A very small administrative team and the Board will remain in place to oversee the wind-down of programs, manage required licensing steps and explore what a future, right-sized Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska could look like.

Why this decision was made
Earlier this fall, we shared that the organization was facing significant financial challenges driven by delayed government reimbursements, changes in funding streams, increased costs and a slowdown in individual and corporate giving. These pressures have been accumulating over many years and have resulted in a financial gap we can no longer close under the current model. We temporarily paused Clubhouse and Athletics operations and focused on keeping licensed childcare open while we sought bridge funding and considered multiple restructuring options.

Thanks to extraordinary community generosity, about $70,000 has been raised to date. Those funds have 1) helped keep the Child Development Centers open through the fall, and 2) paid for essential expenses like heat and electricity at Club sites while a skeleton crew and the Board evaluated options. Despite these efforts, the difference between the true cost of care and what we can responsibly operate has continued to widen.

Support for staff and families
We recognize that this decision creates real hardship for employees and families. 

We are following up with each impacted employee.

To help identify new care options, we encourage families to contact Thread at 907-265-3100. Thread is Alaska’s Child Care Resource & Referral organization that provides free referrals and information about licensed programs statewide.

Families can also contact YMCA of Alaska at 907-563-3211.

Looking ahead
For more than six decades, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska has existed because staff, families, partners, and donors believed Alaska’s kids deserve safe, supportive places to learn and grow. That legacy does not end with this announcement.
By taking this painful step now, the Board hopes to preserve a foundation on which a new, stronger model can be built in the future. The details of that plan are still being determined, and we will update the community as decisions are made.

On behalf of the Board and leadership team, we would like to thank our employees for everything they have poured into this organization: their time, talent, trust and care for kids. Their work has mattered tremendously to thousands of young people and their families.

We are deeply sorry for the disruption and grief this causes, and we are profoundly grateful for the years spent making Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska what it has been to so many.

With Gratitude,
Susan A. Anderson, M.Ed.
Chief Executive Officer, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska

Katie Marquette
 Board Chair, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska