Man behind Bloomington Boys and Girls Clubs 'Magic Soup' plans to retire

Jeff Baldwin, who has served as executive director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington since 2006, plans to retire from that position “at the stroke of midnight on 12/31 this year,” he said recently in his office on North Monroe Street.

But he’s not actually retiring, Baldwin wants everyone to know.

“Just like the kids who arrive here to realize their full potential, I’ve still got a lot of miles to contribute,” he said.

Considering his resume, that’s no surprise. Baldwin, age 61, has been directing a broad program of afterschool activities for Bloomington boys and girls for 18 years based on what he has termed “three core program areas: healthy lifestyles, academic success, and good character and active citizenship.”

“The mission states we’re here to help kids realize their full potential as caring, productive, and responsible citizens,” Baldwin said.

Delivering all that every day to some 700 boys and girls from grades one to 12 at three club locations in Bloomington may seem close to impossible. But a look at the program of activities shows how it happens.

The primary club at 311 S. Lincoln St., just south of downtown Bloomington, opened in 1956 and has long been a center for, among many other things, seasonal sports such as basketball, football, and soccer.

The Steve and Connie Ferguson Crestmont Club on West 11th Street serves lots of kids living at Bloomington Housing Authority, and the third club serves kids in Ellettsville. Camp Rock, at Lake Lemon, offers a summer program including swimming, boating, fishing, and hiking.

The summer program this year at the Lincoln Street Club, for example, is providing activities with titles like “Time Traveler,” “Around the World,” “Mad Scientist,” “Be an Artist,” “Carnival,” and “Wacky Water.”

Baldwin graduated from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, and began a teaching career at Clear Creek Elementary where he found himself “talking them through, walking them through life challenges they may have,” as he described his teaching approach.

Unlike those years, Baldwin reflects on what he sees as “a societal problem in the United States right now.”

“There was a time when parents brought their kids to school and said, ‘Hello, teacher, thank you for taking care of Jimmy at school — we’re here to support you in everything you do. Let us know how we can partner in the education of our children.’”

“Today,” Baldwin says, “only about 25 % of parents are engaged that way. Kids coming to the Boys & Girls Clubs — a lot of them are not getting the support they need at home.”

But at a B&G club, he adds, “The way they conduct themselves is very important to us. We’re going to be role-modeling. Good citizenship. This is their clubhouse.”

And they care for it by cleaning up at the end of the day.

“Why do I love my job?” Baldwin asks.

“The Boys & Girls Clubs is uniquely positioned to provide what I call ‘The Magic Soup,’” he says, defining it as a tasty and nourishing blend of activities kids enjoy, adult attention, and new skills that kids can learn and take home.

For example, in Cooking Club, one day a week a staff member shows each of the classmates how to prepare a crockpot of food and take it home so their family can enjoy a tasty and nourishing meal.

Club members also volunteer “off campus,” serving at the Strawberry Shortcake Festival, for example, and creating an animal shelter.

In the meantime, Baldwin says, his young charges, while having lots of fun, are becoming “caring, productive, responsible citizens.”