Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City - Hawthorne Unit

★★★★Bailey Keele

We came from another boys and girls location, Hawthorne made the switch so easy and my 3rd grader loves the staff and his new friends!

★Chylenn Cornett

Enrolled my children in the Boys and Girls Club, hoping it would be a safe and nurturing environment for them. Unfortunately, our experience was far from that. One of the most troubling aspects was the severe understaffing. My children, along with other kindergarten to 3rd-grade students, were crammed into a tiny, makeshift classroom that was no bigger than a closet, with only a few folding tables. The lack of space and resources was alarming. Professionalism was sorely lacking among the staff. My daughter recounted multiple instances of inappropriate behavior from staff members, including a lunch lady hitting another child in the face and making derogatory comments to the girls, calling them "rats." Despite reporting these issues, I saw no improvement. My children dreaded going to the club and even preferred doing chores at home over spending time there. A particularly distressing incident occurred when my daughter, who was in second grade at the time, went on a field trip with the club. She had a cell phone for emergencies, and I was alarmed to receive a notification that 911 had been called from her phone. I struggled to reach any staff members and only received an update when I was nearly at the club. The staff assured me that my daughter was safe and that 911 had not been called by her phone, as it had been left behind at the club. However, when I got to my daughter at the field trip location, she told me her phone was indeed at the club, I go to the club get her stuff and the phone upon retrieving it, I discovered that the 911 call had been deleted from the call log. When I confronted the club about this, they suggested that another child might have called 911 and then somehow deleted the call log—a highly suspicious and unlikely scenario. Despite their promises to review camera footage and get back to me, I never heard from them again. Given these troubling experiences, I made the immediate decision to pull my children out of the Boys and Girls Club. I would not recommend this facility to any parent who values their child's safety and well being. Prior to 2021 the club was an amazing recourse for parents.

★★★★★Frances Newton

GREAT place for kids up to 18. Starting age is school age 5-6 to 18, where a kid can be a kid!!

★★★★★Debbie Johnson

Great place for kids! Very good leadership.

★★★★★LaShaunda Co.

My children have been members for over 3 years. Love the staff and the way they care for the kids here.