Imani Gilliard, a sixth-grader at Moultrie Middle School, has been going to the Boys & Girls Club in Mount Pleasant every day after school for as long as she can remember. She likes singing and basketball, math and science. But above all, Imani is a successful student. She boasts straight A’s and says matter-of-factly that without the organization, that success wouldn’t be possible.

“When I’m at home, I just watch TV,” Imani says. “Here, I’m really concentrated and get all my work done.”

However, when government funding was cut from Boys & Girls Clubs sites nationwide last December, Imani’s after-school refuge nearly disappeared.

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Trident Area (BGCTA) comprise seven sites, which serve hundreds of children in the tri-county. The Mt. Pleasant Unit and Robert Gould Shaw Unit in downtown Charleston are the only two community-based sites, and without inherent school support, they almost shut down.

But in the spirit of what BGCTA stands for, both sites have pulled out of the quicksand and emerged from the struggle a little stronger, a little wiser and a lot more determined.

“We have a very clear strategic plan of where we need to be,” says Krystal Oliveira, events coordinator for BGCTA. To begin the overhaul, Shaw and Mount Pleasant were appointed new unit directors, and two advisory councils were created to raise awareness and gain support in the community for each site.

Mount Pleasant Unit director Eric Gaffney has been working with the organization for the past four years, the bulk of which he spent in downtown Charleston.

Atiya McPherson, Shaw Unit director, is also a BGCTA veteran. Since August, they’ve both been working to restructure, redesign and reinterpret what BGCTA means not only to the kids, but also to the community.

Gaffney has spent most of his time building structure and getting the kids used to a more disciplined environment. While growing up in Spartanburg, Gaffney participated in a Salvation Army after-school program, which was basically an open rec center. He hopes to make the Mount Pleasant club more than just an “open funhouse.”

“I’m trying to strike a balance between structure and fun,” Gaffney says. “I put it upon myself to really challenge these kids and broaden their horizons.”

For the past few months, Gaffney has tossed out irreparably damaged books and large, archaic computer equipment. He hopes to have 10 or more new computers by the end of the year and has already welcomed community-donated items and volunteers’ time.

Fortunately, funding hasn’t affected any programs offered at the Mount Pleasant club, although Gaffney acknowledges the economy’s effect on the community the club serves. In this light, Gaffney and his volunteers serve dinners, making sure every kid has food, and try to truly understand their home situations.

Currently, the Mount Pleasant site sees about 25 kids per day, but Gaffney hopes – and expects – to soon double that number by going out into the community and letting people know what BGCTA is all about.

“We’re moving in a direction away from financial instability,” Gaffney says.

The Shaw Unit is almost unrecognizable, witnessing enormous change inside and out. The unit, which has typically served children ages 6 to 12, refocused its efforts on teens and received a community-supported makeover to help it “grow up.”

Volunteers from local companies, including T-Mobile, have painted, refurnished and restocked almost every room in the building. Businesses donated 10 new computers, printers and books along with computer chairs and a couch to furnish the club’s new “Teen Lounge.”

“I was just blown away,” McPherson says. “We now have everything a child needs to be successful.”

Aside from bringing the building up to an acceptable level of teen “cool,” programs offered are now teen-specific and address vital life issues such as financial literacy, self-image and healthy cooking.

So far, the teens love it. They call it their “Glory Club,” and they’ve come to think of it as their own.

“Not too many kids can say they own a club, but it’s theirs,” McPherson says.

Shaw, which once served up to 200 kids, now serves about 40 teens but is coming into its own as the program grows. McPherson hopes an increase in numbers will follow.

Although the seven sites directly serve 420 kids, BGCTA affects and interacts with more than 4,000 kids through “Reading Soul Mates,” a literacy program at almost every school in the Charleston County Public School District in which older students are trained to tutor younger students.

The five school-based sites have been able to maintain their numbers, and no programs have been cut. Kids who previously went to Shaw have been redirected to Sanders-Clyde Elementary. But even though these sites haven’t had to reduce their numbers, they can’t increase them either, Oliveira says. But that’s not to say they never will.

“I think we’re stronger because we are more determined and more focused on fundraising efforts,” Oliveira says. And she guarantees every dollar invested is worth it.

It costs more than $20,000 a year to keep an inmate in prison. Lack of education and structure are often cited as the two main factors that lead to incarceration. The goal of BGCTA is to prevent this by giving kids the opportunity “to rise above the disadvantaged situations they are in by no fault of their own,” Oliveira says.

Gaffney relates the organization’s mission to a successful business model. When companies try to reinvigorate their business, they target the youth, he explains. BGCTA wants to do the same thing. Kids are given the chance at an early age to know what is available to them and how to become more productive citizens, which in turn creates a more productive community.

Working with teens, McPherson sees more immediate goals. “They want to live longer than those they had known,” she says.

Surviving the economic crisis is proof that tomorrow will be better than today and today was better than yesterday. Gaffney and McPherson expect growth; they expect improvement; they expect better. Just like the kids they promise to – and do – help, BGCTA will not give up just because of a financial rough patch. That would be too ironic.

Listen to Imani, who will tell you she lives “over the hill, in the projects.” Did she mention she gets all A’s, too? Maybe without the Boys & Girls Club Imani would be someplace else or someone else far less promising, without opportunity or encouragement. But for now, she has the Boys & Girls Club.

For more information, visit www.bgclubta.org.