Union League Boys and Girls Clubs Gets its Start on the West Side
West Side
Inspired by the work of New York Boys Club organizers, several Union League Club of Chicago (ULCC) members came together in December of 1919 to establish a foundation then known as the Union League Boys Club. It’s purpose, as stated in its articles of incorporation was, “to found and maintain Boys’ Clubs for the promotion…of the social, moral and physical education and development of underprivileged boys in Chicago.”
The goal was to stem the tide of juvenile crime in Chicago’s neighborhoods. Overseen by a Board of Trustees, whose members were also members of the ULCC, the Union League Boys Club Foundation established two Clubs and an 80-acre summer camp within its first decade.
Club One opened in 1920 in a renovated 1880’s building in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago’s Lower West Side. Club Two, was opened in 1927 in a new purpose-built structure in the East Village neighborhood of Chicago’s West Town community. Both neighborhoods were densely populated with working class Eastern and Southern European immigrants and first-generation Americans with a large population of what the Foundation considered underprivileged boys who would benefit from the services and activities offered by the two clubs and the camp.
The 1929 stock market crash created significant economic hardship on the population served by the Union League Boys Club Foundation and on Union League Club members. Plans for a third club on Chicago’s west side were abandoned and the property sold for funds. Funding steadily deteriorated through 1935, although the Union League Boys Clubs continued to operate and were supported entirely by members of the Union League Club.
To stimulate member interest in and funding for the Boys Club, ULCC President DeWitt Clough proposed the idea of dedicating a private eighth floor meeting room to the Boys Clubs to be decorated with murals picturing their activities. Chicago muralist Gaspar Miklos was hired in February 1935 to paint a mural cycle in “The Boys Club Room” Room 816 of the ULCC clubhouse. A series of articles appeared in the Union League Club's newsletter during the planning, painting, and opening of the room to promote funding for operation of the Boys Clubs and camp. The murals still decorate the room’s walls as a reminder of ULCC commitment to civic service and support for improving the lives of Chicago’s youth.
The Union League Boys & Girls Clubs Camp in Salem, WI has grown from its original 80 to 247 acres and is one of only seven of its kind nationwide. Offering over 1,000 inner-city campers each summer a chance to engage in outdoor camping, campfire ceremonies, storytelling, arts and crafts, drama, music, boating and fishing; campers learn about environmental awareness, leadership, and teambuilding. After a week at camp, youth return home with new skills and new friends. For many, the camp experience is transformational.
In addition to the camp, Union League Boys & Girls Clubs currently has a total of 18 sites in the Chicago neighborhoods of Armour Square, Archer Heights, Bucktown, Englewood, Humboldt Park, Pilsen, South Lawndale, Ukrainian Village, and West Town. This includes a collaborative program for justice-involved youth with the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. For 102 years, Union League Boys & Girls Clubs have been at the forefront of youth development, serving the after-school development needs of Chicago’s youth. Funded primarily through ULCC members, the Union League Boys & Girls Clubs Foundation has grown to a distinct and effective organization that today provides quality programming centered on academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles to over 15,000 youth across Chicago.
