Summer fun improves mental health at Boys & Girls Clubs

Boys & Girls Clubs learn summer fun can improve mental health

Students at five Central Arkansas Boys & Girls Clubs are learning how summer activities can improve their mental health.

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield employees continued their visits to local clubs in 2026, talking to students about gardening and helping students create their own ice cream sundaes.

The visits, which began in 2025, are a partnership between the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which engage more than 3 million children and teens nationwide. Because children of all ages continue to face mental health challenges at an alarming rate, the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas provided a $500,000 grant to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America over a four-year period to implement trauma-informed care.

During their monthly visits, Arkansas Blue Cross volunteers lead mental health-focused activities for the students.

For their gardening day, students decorated flowerpots and filled them with soil and sunflower seeds. The hands-on activity showcased the mental and emotional benefits of spending time outdoors and the importance of nurturing ourselves so we can grow, just as we do with our plants.

When Arkansas Blue Cross volunteers served up ice cream with all the toppings, they shared how enjoying simple treats like ice cream can be a form of self-care, which is essential for good mental health.

During each visit, students practice a breathing exercise related to the day’s activity. When employees served ice cream, the students practiced “ice cream breathing” by visualizing a cone stacked with their favorite flavors, inhaling as they moved to the cherry on top, and exhaling as they moved back down to the cone.

Since the program began, volunteers have joined students for crafts and activities such as glitter jars, friendship bracelets, pizza parties and games. All the activities allow students to be creative, reflect on their own mental health and learn the importance of taking deep breaths when their emotions feel out of control.