Daneirys's Story

Stories : Daneirys

Daneiryss

2018 Youth of the Year "...defined for me the meaning of becoming a young woman."

When I was growing up in the Cambridge Park neighborhood of Bristol, CT, I witnessed at a young age domestic violence, drug use, and gang activity in our community; my teenage brother was even shot near our home. My family realized that I needed to be part of an environment different than what I was encountering at home and in my neighborhood. This is how I became a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Bristol Family Center at age 6. I didn’t know my experience at the Club would last more than a decade and change my life forever. I’m thankful that the Club staff quickly saw potential in me and nurtured my creativity. I joined ‘Power Hour’, a program that helps kids achieve academic success by providing homework help, tutoring, and encouraging them to become self-directed learners. I also joined SMART Girls, a health, fitness, prevention/education, and self-esteem program designed to meet the developmental needs of girls. The Club’s programs defined for me the meaning of becoming a young woman who takes responsibility for herself and is mature in her decision making. I began to understand that I had options in life, better than those I realized at home. When I was 15, I started working with Club staff to help supervise youth members and provide peer-mentoring. Today I manage the SMART Girls program onsite at Cambridge Park, bringing my positive Club experiences full circle by igniting a change in the lives of other children in the very community in which I was raised. I’m now better prepared for life as an adult, as I continue my work at the Club, hold a part-time job, and attend technical high school with the dream of enrolling in college and opening my own sheet metal business right here in Bristol, continuing to serve the community that has served me so well.