March is Women’s History Month. As those of us at Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver reflect on more than 30 years of serving girls, we wanted to highlight a few of our female Club members who, even at at young age, are doing amazing work in our communities and shaping a brighter future for all of us.
Shaleeyah has been coming to the Boys & Girls Club since she was 12 years old. She started making new friends, discovered new interests and became involved with the Club’s anti-bullying initiative. She started her own program at the Club named “What’s Your Emoji” to help Club members express their emotions and talk more openly about their mental health. Shaleeyah is passionate about creating safer, more inclusive communities.
“Everyone deserves to be treated like a human, no matter what skin color, age, gender or sexual orientation.”
Kiki is passionate about creating a better world, in a very literal sense. She hopes to preserve our environment for future generations by raising awareness about protecting natural habitats and cutting down on carbon emissions. She also hopes we can collectively reduce food waste and do away with single-use plastics. Kiki was very shy when she joined the Club, but through playing sports, she opened up and made lots of friends. She is quick to help out wherever she can. She looks forward to volunteering again once the pandemic is over.
“Now is the time to make a change.”
The Boys & Girls Club is Nashara’s second home. At the Club, she gets to try new things and meet new people. Nashara loves math and baking. She tries to stand up for what is right – and she believes that girls need to look out for each other. Nashara is a young community activist who has been involved in discussions about racial justice and volunteered to help people experiencing homelessness in Denver. In the near future, she’s planning a March for Peace in her community alongside her fellow Club members.
“We girls need to stick together and encourage each other to be the best that we can be.”
At the Boys & Girls Club, Keilani became an active member. Through field trips and outdoor education activities offered at the Club, she learned to snowboard, paddle board and whitewater raft! Sadly, she also lost the ability to fully enjoy those activities after suffering a series of injuries. Through hard work and determination, she overcame both the physical and mental obstacles and returned to doing the things she loves. She plans to study kinesiology and sports medicine so she can help others overcome their obstacles as well.
“Overcoming an obstacle is simple: Create a plan. Put in work. Overcome.”
Four years ago, Jaidyn was struggling in school and struggling to find her purpose. The Boys & Girls Club helped her get back on track academically and through volunteer activities, she discovered her passion for helping others. After learning about inequities in the criminal justice system and being compelled by the killings of unarmed Black men, she made plans to become a criminal justice attorney. Driven to help her community, she recently graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA for her last semester.
“We need more people that look like me to use our voices.”