Feature

by LaurEn SouLam, GrantS dirEctor

of Truckee Meadows:

Much more than just a safe place for kids

Boys & Girls Club members come from all different walks of life. Some come to the Club because they need a safe and fun place to be during school breaks. Others become members to participate in the Club’s quality sports leagues, summer camps and other specialized programs. Some members come from low-income families or at-risk home lives while others come from middle-class and even more affluent home situations.

Regardless of their circumstances or reasons for becoming a Club member, one thing is consistent: the Boys & Girls Club is there to meet the needs of every child who walks through their doors, be they many or few. For Jevin Daugherty, the Boys & Girls Club helped him find his voice as he grew from a shy and cautious child into a confident young man.

Jevin spent the first eight years of his life in Vallejo, Calif., living with his mom and some extended family. “My mom used to tell me that we couldn’t trust our family,” Jevin recalled. “That’s a hard thing to hear as a kid. If I couldn’t trust my family, who could I trust?” When Jevin started showing early signs of following those around him down a path of trouble, his mom knew it was time for a change. She sent Jevin to Reno to live with his dad, stepmom and two older stepbrothers.

It was a difficult transition for Jevin. Life in Vallejo was all he knew, and he had become very untrusting of those around him. He distanced himself as much as he could from those around him, even his own family. “That was about the time my dad and stepmom signed me up for the Boys & Girls Club,” Jevin said. “My brothers went to the Club on Neil Road, and my dad knew the Club would be good for me too. I wasn’t so sure.”

“The first week or so that I was there I felt like I was being forced to go. And I was. But it wasn’t long before I started participating in some of the activities and even making friends. The kids at the Boys & Girls Club didn’t pick on me or make me feel like an outsider. Instead, they cared about me and wanted to play with me. That’s when I started to realize that there were more people in this world that I could trust.”

With the support of his family, Jevin began attending the Club regularly. As he became a teenager, Jevin joined Leaders in Training (LIT), a Club program where teens learn job skills, volunteer their time at the Club and have the opportunity to earn a paid position at the Club during the summer. “As an LIT, I realized that I really enjoyed working with kids,” Jevin said. “I especially like working with those kids who are a little quieter and cautious. They remind me of myself when I was younger. I hope that I can be that positive role model in their lives that I had at the Club.”

Today, Jevin is a high school senior with plans to attend college to study veterinary science. His hard work, positive attitude and dedication to the Club earned him the Boys & Girls Club’s 2013 Male Youth of the Year Award. “I’m not the shy, quiet kid in the corner anymore. I’m a leader and a mentor,” Jevin said. “I’m not completely sure what my future will hold, but I know it will be bright.” Eva Hernandez

For Eva Hernandez, the Club’s 2013 Female Youth of the Year, the story is a bit different. Not only was the Boys & Girls Club there to change her life, but it also transformed the lives of her entire family. Eva was born in Reno, the youngest and only girl with four older brothers. Her parents legally emigrated from Mexico before she was born, and they worked hard to provide a good life for their family. Still, the family struggled. They lived in a difficult part of town where gang violence was common.

As a Hispanic female living in a low-income neighborhood, Eva seemed to be at a disadvantage from the start. But according to Eva, “Our lives were completely changed when a Boys & Girls Club

“Our lives were completely changed when a Boys & Girls Club opened across the street from our apartment.”

Eva HErnandEz

opened across the street from our apartment.” Her brother, Miguel, was the first to become a Club member. After that, her other brothers joined. The Club even offered Eva’s mom a job, a position she still holds today. Eva recalls her first few days at the Club. “It was Miguel who first helped me feel at home. Every day, Miguel would participate in a program called Power Hour, where he would earn Power Points for finishing his homework at the Club. Once a month, he could cash in his points for toys and school supplies. He used to share his prizes with me, and it didn’t take me long to want to start earning my own prizes in Power Hour. After that, I was hooked.”

Eva was at the Club every day, not only because her mom worked there, but because she wanted to be a part of every program the Club had to offer. From money management courses to leadership clubs to health classes, Eva did it all. Being at the Club even helped her learn English. When she turned 13, she too joined Leaders in Training. “The programs at the Club have reinforced the important lessons my parents have taught me since I was young—the importance of working hard to achieve your goals and create a successful future. And the importance of giving back.”

Since joining the Club, all four of Eva’s brothers have graduated high school and are either in college or have graduated from college. Miguel was even the Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year in 2008. Today, Eva is a junior on track to graduate with an honors diploma. After graduation, she plans to attend college to major in biochemistry and molecular biology and minor in French. An incredible plan for a young lady who, as she puts it, “was from the wrong side of town with the statistics stacked high against me. But thanks to the Boys & Girls Club, I will not be a negative statistic but a positive one.” Club looking toward the future

Success stories like those of Jevin and Eva reinforce the important role the Boys & Girls Club plays in our northern Nevada community. In 2013, the Club served more than 11,000 youth at 19 locations stretching from Verdi to Fernley to Lemmon Valley. And while their reach is broad, these satellite sites make sure that each child gets the attention they need to thrive.

Now, the Club is preparing to welcome upwards of 3,000 new members at the William N. Pennington Facility. Construction on the facility began in June and is scheduled to open its doors to the community in the spring of 2014. Located across the street from Reno High School on Foster Drive, the new facility sits on the former location of the YMCA, a property with a long history of serving the Reno/Sparks community. After sitting dormant for nearly five years, last summer the Reno City Council voted to give the land to the Boys & Girls Club. Fueled by a $9 million seed gift from the William N. Pennington Foundation, the Pennington Facility quickly became a reality.

The need was clear, especially after the YMCA closed down after nearly 50 years of service. “When the Y closed down, there was a huge void in that neighborhood,” said Mike Wurm, Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows Chief Professional Officer. “With this new facility, we’ll be able to fill a lot of that void with the parts that fit our mission. We’ll make sure that youth have a safe and fun place to be after school plus offer specialized initiatives like sports leagues and leadership clubs.”

The case for the Pennington Facility was compelling, and many in the community were eager to get behind the project. Along with the Pennington Foundation, many other local foundations, businesses and individuals have stepped up to contribute funds to build the facility. The Club is nearing their fundraising goal, but there is still work to be done. Their Brick by Brick campaign is one way for the public to become a part of the project. For as little as $100, a family or business can purchase a customized brick that will be permanently displayed in the Pennington Facility’s front walkway.

Along with construction costs, the Club has also designed their fundraising efforts with sustainability in mind. “It’s not enough to just build a new building,” Wurm said. “We have to be able to sustain it for generations to come.” To this end, part of the project’s fundraising goal includes two years of operating expenses, a long-term maintenance fund and some key infrastructure upgrades that will help integrate the fundraising burden of this new facility into the Club’s annual fundraising strategies.

Once the building is open, it will offer all the trademark programs and activities of a flourishing Boys & Girls Club—tutoring and homework help, sports leagues, healthy lifestyles classes, summer camp and much more. It will be a place to foster the potential in youth like Jevin and Eva. A place where northern Nevada’s future leaders will learn and grow.

To be a part of the William N. Pennington Facility or to make a year-end gift to the Boys & Girls Club, visit www.bgctm.org or call (775) 331-KIDS (5437).

Jevin Daugherty and Eva Hernandez