The Health and Life Skills Core Program Area develops young people’s capacity to engage in positive behaviors that nurture their own well-being, set personal goals and live successfully as self-sufficient adults.

SMART Moves
The SMART Moves (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training) prevention/education program addresses the problems of drug and alcohol use and premature sexual activity. Based on proven techniques, the program uses a team approach involving Club staff, peer leaders, parents and community representatives. More than simply emphasizing a "Say No" message, the program teaches young people ages 6-15 how to say no by involving them in discussion and role-playing, practicing resistance and refusal skills, developing assertiveness, strengthening decision-making skills and analyzing media and peer influence. The ultimate goal: to promote abstinence from substance abuse and adolescent sexual involvement through the practice of responsible behavior.

SMART Girls
An outgrowth of the popular and effective SMART Moves program, SMART Girls is a health, fitness, prevention/education and self-esteem enhancement program for girls ages 10-15. The program is designed to encourage healthy attitudes and lifestyles that will enable early adolescent girls to develop to their full potential. The SMART Girls program is sponsored by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc.

Smart Guys
Passport to Manhood promotes and teaches responsibility while reinforcing positive behavior in male Club members ages 11-14. Passport to Manhood consists of 14 small-group sessions, each of which concentrates on a specific aspect of manhood through highly interactive activities. Each participant is issued his own "Passport".

Cavity-Free Zone
Cavity-Free Zone was developed in response to the recent U.S. Surgeon General's report on oral health which revealed a silent epidemic of oral disease in America, especially among disadvantaged youth. Underwritten by Crest, Cavity-Free Zone aims to improve the oral health of Club members ages 6-18 nationwide. Through oral health educational program materials, a Web site and collaborative efforts with local dental schools, dental societies and other health care agencies, Cavity-Free Zone will be a catalyst for change in providing dental services to disadvantaged youth.