Testimonials

Read testimonials from parents and members on the positive impact of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middlesex County.

Why I Love the Everett Boys & Girls Club

Ever since the Boys & Girls Club has opened in the old Everett High School, it has given me more opportunities towards making more friends, help with school related situation, and a place to hang out within a safe environment. Till this day, I love the Boys & Girls Club! It was a place for me to go to everyday afterschool to do homework, hang out, and practice dance and step with the dance team. I have created a strong bond with the staff here and they literally help me with any troubles that I have. I can always be able to talk to them and not feel uncomfortable about it either. Especially when it came to choosing a college, they also helped me with that too. I had no idea where I wanted to go, so when I asked for their advice I followed it. now I attend a college that I absolutely love and I thank them for that. Without them, I don't know where I would be at this day.

The boys & Girls Club is my favorite spot for me to go to hang out with friend, keep myself occupied and away from trouble, and to mainly have fun, especially during the summer when the day tends to get boring. If the Club wasn't available anymore, I think every teen that comes there daily would be affected by it and very upset too. Going to the club has become part our daily activities and it's what we look forward to at the end of the day. Again, without it, teens would be bored and up into something they're not supposed to. The Club has kept us away from trouble and helped clear problems in the air with one another in the right way. The Club has played a major part in bringing our community together because teens that range from 13 to 18 can come to meet one another especially if they don't attend the same schools. Without the Boys & Girls Club, this would be another boring community that only had schools, homes, stores, and be another city where teens wouldn't have a place to chill and have fun.

I love the boys & Girls Club! Without it, I don't think teens and our community would be who and what they are today.

Sincerely,

Janet Rowe, age 19*

* Name changed to respect member's privacy.

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I love the boys and girls club because they teach me how to be a leader in life. Ever since I started coming here, I stayed out of trouble and became a better person in life. I love asking Andrew for advice, he is like a male role model I never had. I enjoy watching the older boys play basketball because I want to be a pro basketball player by coming here I learn so much from the older boys. I love playing basketball with Phil even though he block me every time. I try to make a shot but he's just so fun to play basketball with. But most of all, I love the boys and girls club because they push me past my limit because they believe me. I love Everett teen boys and girls club.

- Everett Teen Member, age 13

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What does the Cambridge Boys and Girls Club meant to me. As a single working mother with two young boys the club meant the world. I don't know what I would have done without the club. First of all the staffs was wonderful and caring toward the children. They take pride in the children education. Education was priority one of them and that was a big plus for me. They expose the kids to different things. My son liked going to different places and doing all types of experiments with the staff. One of my favorite times at the club is family night and seeing the children performing and dancing for their family. The club is a place where the kids can grow and make friends. They teach them how to be a productive team player and young man and women. They can carry this with them into the work force and everyday life. So without the club many parents would be last. I would recommend the boys and girl club to anyone that needs a place for their children. I hope they keep up the good work they are doing with our community children, because so many of our children don't have good roll models to look up to.

- Cambridge Clubhouse Parent
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Dear Governor Patrick:

Please provide funding for the Boys and Girls Clubs in Massachusetts. Without the Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County I would have no place for my 11 year old son to go after school. I cannot afford to pay for the after school program at the schools or other after school programs in Medford, they are very expensive. My parents have passed away and my siblings work so my son would have to stay alone in the apartment without the Boys and Girls Club. Now a bus is provided, which takes him right from school to the Boys Club each week day where I know he is safe and learning and growing and having a great time with other children. I am a single mother and I work in government, as you know my paycheck has been decreasing, with the increases in healthcare insurance and furloughs. I can barely make the mortgage, buy food and pay the utilities and other day to day expenses. If I lose the Boys and Girls Clubs I have no options because I do not have a penny to spare, really it is that tough right now.

I have been with state government for 28 years, I have worked hard and I only want to be able to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table and have a safe place for my son after school. I know you have to make tough choices, trying to cut where it will do the least harm to the needy. I consider myself middle class but please remember we are hurting too. I am only one paycheck away from being homeless myself. I am grateful I have a job and for the Boys and Girls Clubs. Please help us keep the Boys and Girls Clubs open so our children have a safe and fun environment in which to learn and grow each day with children of all races and creeds. It is a very diverse population which is very good for the children.

Ms. Linda Hopkins

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Dear Boys & Girls Club OF Middlesex County,

My name is Barbie, and I am a single mother of a seven year old girl. I am writing to you today, so I can share my experience with you on what the Somerville Boys and Girls Club means to my family. They have done so many wonderful things for my family, and have made me into a better person.Back in February is when I started volunteering for the Club. I have seen such an improvement in myself since the very first day I started. I never thought in million years that the Boys and Girls Club could change my life for me in such a positive way. They not only changed my life for me as a woman but as a mother as well.

I have been up and down some rocky roads and the Boys and Girls Club helped

me see the better side of things. I remember one day I was having some hard times with my daughter and when I told the Director about it, she was willing to listen with open arms. I had asked her if she could help me get some resources to help my daughter out and she was so willing, that till this day I am so forever grateful. Since my daughter has been going through her stages of hurt and disappointments, the Somerville Club has been the positive place for my daughter. Even with my daughter’s struggles and challenges, the staff did everything they could to try to make her feel safe and loved.The staff met with my Family Stabilization Team that helps me with being a better mom and role model for my daughter, and we all sat down and came up with a plan to make my daughter.

Chile and my team talked among themselves and I have never been so grateful to these people than I am today. She gave my daughter a fighting chance to have her life back with the kids and to have a wonderful summer.I never had anyone take the time out of their busy schedule like Chile has to help give my daughter a fighting chance at being a child again. My daughter never got to hang with kids her own age until she started going to the Club. I don’t have many friends that have children so I wanted to give her a better summer than she has had in the last six years of her life.Being a volunteer at the Somerville site has changed my summer and my daughter’s as well. Since she has been at the Boys & Girls Club, she has done a lot better. She has made a lot more progress and I see a difference in her attitude as well.

The Boys & Girls Club has been an inspiration to me and my family.I have also noticed an improvement in our relationship. Thanks to the Boys & Girls Club, we are getting along better, we love spending more time together and most importantly I have my family back. We never really had a bond with one another until I got involved with the Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County. Being a part of such a great organization has made me feel a lot more positive about my life as a woman and as a single mother. I never thought that I could have such a positive reaction to my life until I walked in the club doors when I did.

All of the staff has giving me hope, faith, and more love in my life.Because the Boys & Girls Club staff were there for me when I felt like there was no hope in the world for me to survive, I have learned to be more open minded in receiving advice.I have never felt so confident about myself and so positive about my life until the Boys and Girls Club became apart of our lives. I use to always think that there was never a light at the end of the tunnel, until now. Chile and her staff have given me a reason to move forward in my life and make some positive changes.

I thank the Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex Country for helping my family in a time of need.Thank you for giving me not only my life back, but more positive ways of doing things and how to cope with any situation that life throws my way. You guys are amazing and I’m glad to have the Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County apart of my life.

I am Very Grateful,

Barbie Hansen