For Better Men and Women: A Challenge Coin Design for the Club That Changed Everything

We’re not crying, you’re crying—okay, actually we are crying, and it started the moment we read the motto: “For Better Men and Women.” Cue the emotional spiral and the coffee refill. Cue us whispering “this matters” while staring at a blank sketchpad like it’s the Lincoln Memorial.

Because this? This is more than an organization. It’s a lifeline. A launchpad. A second home where scraped knees and big dreams grow into character, resilience, and purpose. The Neighborhood Boys and Girls Club isn’t just about what happens after school—it’s about what happens for the rest of your life. (And we’re already emotionally wrecked over it.)

Let’s go back. Robert Buehler and Richard Valentin had this wild, brilliant, radically hopeful idea: give kids a place to grow. Not just grow taller, but grow into better people—with integrity, with confidence, with a community that cheers when you win and picks you up when you fall. They didn’t build a program. They built a legacy.

And OH, the values. The big six. HONESTY. SELF-RELIANCE. SPORTSMANSHIP. TEAMWORK. LEADERSHIP. LASTING FRIENDSHIPS. Not just words on a wall—these are how you walk through the world after you’ve spent time here. This club doesn’t hand out trophies and move on. It teaches you how to win with grace, lose with perspective, and stand tall in between.

When we learned the club celebrated 90 years in 2021, we had to pause and let that sink in. NINETY. YEARS. That’s nearly a century of pickup games, youth council meetings, scraped knees, life lessons, and “you’ve got this” pep talks from mentors who saw more in you than you saw in yourself. And the best part? They’re still doing it. Still showing up. Still shaping futures, one kid, one game, one leadership moment at a time.

So here we are, hearts full and minds racing, trying to make sense of what this all means. Because when you’re designing something to honor that kind of legacy, you don’t just grab a stock emblem and call it a day. You dig deep. You learn the history. You sit with the values like they’re old friends. And you remind yourself—this project isn’t about decoration.

It’s about devotion.

Here’s how we brought it to life.

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90th Anniversary Challenge Coin Design for the Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club

Oh, we felt this one in our bones. Designing the 90th anniversary challenge coin for the Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club had us all a little misty-eyed and a lot nostalgic—because how do you fit nearly a century of mentorship, friendship, and future-building into two inches of metal? You slow down. You remember the playgrounds and the pep talks and the kids who found their people (and their confidence) in this club. And then you build a coin that feels like legacy.

Let’s start with the front. At the center? A shining gold “90” that practically shouts, We made it!—wrapped in a tiny, ribbon-like banner that reads “Anniversary” like a celebratory sash. Behind it, a black field with a crisp white star, symbolizing the guiding light this club has been for generations of kids finding their way. That whole scene is circled in bold red, where raised gold text reads the club’s iconic motto: “Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club – For Better Men and Women.” (YES, we had chills. YES, we’re proud.) The outermost black ring delivers a punch of purpose with six values that don’t whisper—they lead: Honesty, Self-Reliance, Sportsmanship, Teamwork, Leadership, and Lasting Friendship. The kind of traits you carry for life, long after you’ve aged out of the youth program but still wear your NBGC colors in spirit.

Flip it over and whoa—here come the founders. Raised gold figures stand in front of the original clubhouse, a quiet, dignified tribute to Robert Buehler and Richard Valentin, whose names are etched below like an oath. And YES, there’s a football. Because this club didn’t just teach values in the classroom—it did it on the field, too. Sports, teamwork, grit—it’s all in there. A vibrant red ring surrounds the center, decked with golden stars and the years “1931 – 2021” to mark the full 90-year arc. And the final border? A black ring with raised gold text proudly listing the club’s programs: “Out of School Programs, Athletics, Youth Leadership Program.” At the very bottom, in case you needed one last mic drop: “Everyone Plays.”

This coin is joy. It’s community. It’s the hand on your shoulder telling you “You’ve got this,” and the high-five after a muddy victory. We were honored to bring it to life—and every time we hold it, we swear we hear echoes of sneakers on gym floors and kids laughing in the hallways. THAT’S the Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club. And this coin? It carries it forward.

Capturing History One Challenge Coin At A Time.

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