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Milwaukee Boys & Girls Clubs add arts partnership and new youth program
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee is expanding youth arts opportunities through a new sports-and-arts program and a partnership with TBEY Arts Center. Ballet star Misty Copeland, whose own career began with free club dance classes, joined the announcement in Milwaukee.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee is expanding arts programming for young people through a new sports-and-arts program and a partnership with a Milwaukee youth arts nonprofit.
The expansion was announced Oct. 12 at the organization’s 2026 Presidents Society Gathering at The Pfister Hotel, where ballet dancer Misty Copeland spoke about how a Boys & Girls Club helped her find dance and build stability during a difficult childhood.
The MarVan Sports & Arts Program will offer opportunities in sports, performing arts, visual arts, music and other activities. The club is also partnering with TBEY Arts Center, a 26-year-old nonprofit founded by Contessa Cole when she was 16, after arts programs were cut in Milwaukee Public Schools.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee President and CEO Jeff Snell said the partnership lets the organization draw on TBEY’s existing experience rather than building youth arts offerings from scratch. Cole and Randy Howard, the new director of the MarVan program, will help shape the expanded work, he said.
Howard said he wants the program to help young people explore their interests, develop confidence and form lasting relationships, alongside developing as artists and athletes.
Copeland recalled beginning free dance classes at age 13 at the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club in California. A club dance teacher noticed her on a basketball court and connected her with the classes. At the time, Copeland said, her family was experiencing homelessness, and dance training seemed financially out of reach.
The club offered her a safe, consistent place and a relationship with an adult who helped open a path into ballet, she said. Copeland went on to become the first Black woman principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre in 2015. She is a Boys & Girls Clubs of America Hall of Fame alumna.
Copeland said her experience inspired BE Bold, an after-school initiative of The Misty Copeland Foundation that provides ballet access to children of color ages 5 to 12. She urged young people to seek support from mentors and said she hopes Milwaukee youth make use of the expanded club programs.
The announcement did not specify a budget, start date or the number of young people expected to participate.