In This Issue:
Message from the CEO BGCB Youth of the Year - Blue Hill Club Charlestown Club Youth of the Year
South Boston Club Youth of the Year
Josh Kraft Nicholas President and CEO |
Message from the CEO
We are pleased to introduce you to five exemplary Club teens. As the 2009 Youths of the Year representing our five free-standing Clubs, they set a positive example for others to follow by making good behavior choices and providing service to Club and community. Often, they have had to overcome considerable obstacles, making their achievements and positive attitude even more remarkable.
Shavoryia McElroy, our Blue Hill Club honoree, was also selected as the BGCB Youth of the Year, and went on to compete at the state level as part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America program.
As someone who cares about kids in Boston, you have an investment in the accomplishments of these five teens, and are helping to inspire the futures of more than 14,000 youth across Boston and in Chelsea whom we serve. Thank you for your support of BGCB.
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Shavoryia McElroy - 2009 BGCB Youth of the Year
Blue Hill Club
"To me, the Club is one big life lesson," says Shavoryia McElroy, age 17, who has been a leader and role model at the Blue Hill Club for 11 years. As an only child, Shavoryia provides a great deal of support to her mother, often cooking, cleaning and shoveling the snow in the winter to help. "One might think they are more like friends or sisters than mother and daughter," explains Teen Director Erica Fitch. She also spends time with her grandmother, helping her with household chores that she is unable to do on her own.
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Owen MacDonald - Charlestown Club Youth of the Year
In 2004, Owen learned that his father had cancer just as he was entering his teenage years, a challenging time for many youth. Because of his father's illness, Owen left the house in which he grew up, his school and his friends, to live in Charlestown with his grandmother. He grew up quickly during this time, taking on additional responsibilities for himself and his younger sister, and doing something not all teens are capable of - excelling in the face of adversity.
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Kattie Dwyer - Jordan Club Youth of the Year
When staff at the Jordan Club think of role models, they think of Kattie. She is often the first to volunteer to help her Club and community, is passionate about the environment and social justice, and understands the importance of setting goals, especially when it comes to her education.
At age 17, Kattie continues coming to the Jordan Club every day, as she has for the past nine years, and takes advantage of all the Club has to offer.
Willette Schmidt - South Boston Club Youth of the Year
Eighteen-year-old Willette says, "Going to the Club has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life. I see some of my peers that have left the Club and are doing nothing with their lives, turning to drugs and alcohol. The Club has allowed me to make the right choices in life because I did not want to end up like my own parents."
Growing up, Willette was raised by her grandmother because her parents were battling drug addiction. For her, the Club has been a home away from home for the past 11 years.
Katherine Monroig - Yawkey Club of Roxbury Youth of the Year
Growing up with six siblings in a house where DSS social workers were frequent visitors, Kathey saw the impact a caring adult can have on the life of a child. More recently, when her entire family decided to move back to Puerto Rico, she had two options: move with her family or stay to become the first member in her immediate family to graduate from high school. Although a more challenging path, Kathey, now 18, decided to stay in Boston to help care for her ill grandmother and pursue her dream of college and a career in social work. She credits the Club for giving her the means to accomplish this.
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