The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee has received a five-year, $1.5 million grant from the Joseph J. and Vera Zilber Family Foundation for youth and wellness programs at the LaVarnway Boys & Girls Club, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Most of the grant ($1 million) will fund youth employment, career readiness, and community leadership services at the LaVarnway club — one of two communities chosen for the foundation's ten-year, $50 million Zilber Neighborhood Initiative. The remaining $500,000 will be used for capital improvements and development of the Zilber Health and Life Skill Center, which will provide dental and basic health screenings to neighborhood residents.

The funding will boost the clubs' efforts to develop a quality-of-life planning process that enables them to determine what programs families and young people in the neighborhood need. "Going forward, we believe we can intensify our impact by engaging young people in assessing teens' preferences, developing projects, and contributing to community revitalization," said Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee president and CEO Jim Clark. "These programs will benefit Lindsay Heights and build the skills of the next generation of leaders."