Character & Leadership Development

Developing 21st Century Leaders

These programs help youth become productive, caring, responsible citizens and acquire skills to participate the democratic process. Program participants also develop leadership skills and gain opportunities for planning, decision-making, contributing to Club and community and celebrating our national heritage.

Bluffton Explorers LEAD

Age 12-18

Bluffton Explorers’ L.E.A.D. (Leadership, Excellence, Achievement, Determination) was started in 2008 and is run in partnership with the Bluffton Police Department.

Funded by the Berkeley Hall Charitable Foundation and Women in Philanthropy, a fund of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, the program is designed to enhance the lives of teens ages 12-18 by exposing them to careers in law enforcement, character-building volunteer work and discipline through routine physical training. The Explorer program has been a platform from which countless young adults have launched successful careers in law enforcement, public safety, military, criminal justice and other fields at local, county, state and federal levels.

A major component of the Explorer program is a strict and regimented two-week summer boot camp that takes place on weekdays. This boot camp includes daily physical training, drill and ceremony practice, as well as class time lead by service-oriented volunteers from the Bluffton Police Department. The program concludes with a special graduation ceremony for all teens completing the rigorous curriculum.