The organization began in 1969 as a Boys’ Club with a very modest operation at the Pitt County Fairgrounds.

Since that time, the organization has experienced significant growth in membership, programs, and facilities. In 1992 the Jack Minges Unit was built to accommodate the growing need for youth services and to include girls in the membership. Additional units were established in Ayden in 1993, Farmville in 1995 and Uptown Greenville in 2007. The Grady-White Boats/E.R. Lewis Family Unit was opened in 2007. The Club in Ayden relocated in April of 2010 and was named the Dr. Ledyard E. Ross Unit. The organization assumed responsibility for the Club in Lenoir County in 2010, two Clubs in Beaufort County in 2013, opened a new Club in November 2013 within Greene County Intermediate School and its 10th Club in Robersonville at East End Elementary School in January 2016. Today, more than 1,300 at-risk and in-need young people are taking advantage of the programs, activities and services provided by Clubs. In 2015, the organization changed its name to Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plain to properly represent its presence in Pitt, Lenoir, Beaufort, Greene, Martin, Carteret and Craven Counties.