Letters from Members, Parents, Alumni

Jhosimar's Story

The Boys & Girls Club has helped me become the succes I am now. If it weren't for them I might have been serving a prison sentence! During my teen years I was nothing but trouble. I was the one who no one wanted to help, a failure in other words. I was very fortunate to have the Boys & Girls Club give me the opportunity of a lifetime. They were there for me. Even when higher grounds asked, "why are you helping him?" Many doors were closed, if not all. The one door open to me was the Boys & Girls Club. With their support I was able to quit my substance abuse, finish high school, receive a scholarship from the Rotary Club and now just about ready to transfer to Chico State. People ask me, "How'd you do it?" and I smile and reply, "With incredible help and support from those who believed, like the Boys & Girls Club." 

The Boys & Girls Club is and will always be a positive place for kids! The Boys & Girls Club is a place where all youth are given an opportunity that doesn't come too often. They help teens and children set and achieve goals. If the Boys & Girls Club never existed, these youth would have never accomplished their goals. They provide support and attention that might not exist amongst families. Not every household is perfect. Yet, the Boys & Girls Club is a huge family where children and teens look forward to going everyday! This is a place where everyone is treated equally and fairly.

Katie's Story

My name is Katie Mulleague. I first came to the Boys & Girls Club of Chico in 1999 as a high school student. I initially joined the club as a volunteer, but quickly the club became an active and important part of my life. After working as a volunteer, I worked my way up to the position of Recreation Counselor by my freshman year in college at UCSB.

I began as a volunteer thinking I was giving back to the community and helping children, not viewing myself as someone who needed help. However, now as an adult I see how much positive support I received from the staff and members of the Boys & Girls Club of Chico. Not only did I gain many good friends and role models, but the club served as a family to not only me, but to all of the members of the club.

I grew up in a poor family with divorced parents from a young age, and I constantly searched for a place where I felt valued and like I belonged. I always appeared a happy and self-confident child, but it was not until I began working with the club that I truly felt confident and proud.

In addition to the love and support, the club taught me responsibility and work ethic. I still remember how the staff gave me my first job interview. While I'm sure they had planned on giving me the job, they were kind enough to take the opportunity to teach me how to behave and prepare for an interview. I dressed as professional as I could and after the interview they showed me the video tape and give me advice on how to improve my interview skills. I had never heard so many "ums" in my entire life.

In 2001 I was awarded the Boys & Girls Club of Chico's Youth of the Year Award. Not only was this the first time I had ever won anything, but it in many ways gave value to all the time I had devoted to the club. I believe to be such an important moment because it recognized the one thing I was truly proud of in my life at that time.

Along with the award I was given a scholarship for my first year at UCSB. It was at UCSB that I majored in mathematics and minored in Spanish. After graduation I moved to Santiago, Chile to improve my Spanish skills and teach English. I now find myself back in Northern California in a Masters and Teaching Credential program to become a bilingual math teacher.

In many ways the club defined me during my high school years and has most definitely shaped my life as an adult. I gained confidence, skills and a love for working with children and education that have affected all of my life decisions. I am very much the happy and successful person I am today because of the Boys & Girls Club of Chico. I will always be grateful for all they have done for me and all they do for children like me everyday.
Katie Mulleague, Former Club Member, Youth Of The Year, January 6, 2010

"The Club helped me find alternative paths when I had run into dead ends. The people at the Club gave me respect when I thought I deserved little to none. It saved me."
Jeff K., Club Member

"All my life people have told me I'd never graduate high school. They judged me because of my living conditions, they judged me by the personality but never by my work ethic. I'm here today because of these people. Maybe not everything I've done but they truly gave me the drive I needed. The greatest feeling graduation will bring will be proving these people wrong. Of course the people who doubted me inspired me to graduate but I won't ever remember those people. The ones I will remember are the few who had faith in me, the ones who went out of their way to help me when I struggled. One of the biggest influences on me, possibly the main reason I actually graduated is Hoppie Campos. Without him I couldn't have met the requirements to graduate, maybe even not cared if I did or not. He's helped me prepare for my future. I owe my life to that guy. The way I see it, the good is helpful and the bad makes me stronger. I am potentially unstoppable. It's all up to me."
Kyle, 18, Club Member

"On June 26th I sat behind about ten of your club members at the Oakland A's baseball game. I was very impressed with their outstanding behavior as well as the respect that they gave to each other. Obviously, their parents as supplemented by your Boys & Girls Club, have been teaching them the right things and they have been listening. In order to express the public’s gratitude and to give the children’s club a little boost, I enclose my check for your general fund. While this won't go far, perhaps the children will understand that their good behavior in public, as well as their respect for each other, is appreciated. Hopefully this carries over to their school day, and they are working hard to achieve their goals."
Letter received from Orinda, California