I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for the impact your organization had/has on my life.
As you know, I have accepted my dream job as a special education teacher at Caney High School. This is a dream I honestly thought I had missed the opportunity to fulfill, until you showed belief in me as your teen site director.

Before I became a part of the BGC family, I had experienced many adverse situations in my life that had left me in a state of simply surviving. I had given up on my personal dreams. I had come to believe the negativity that had been programmed into my brain. Things like ‘you will never amount to anything” and “you are garbage, no one wants you”. Although I had come to believe those things about myself, I still had a small ember of hope that I could at least try to save kids from reaching the point I had arrived at in my life.

I have spent the majority of my working days in the field of education and working with children of all ages. While this gave me a little piece of satisfaction that I was making a difference, I still possessed an emptiness I did not know how to fill. One day after I had gone through a difficult divorce and relocated to start over, I was informed of an opening at BGC for a summer position. I applied and was hired as a teen staff and fell in love with the program. After about a year of working in the program as a teen staff and after school tutor, I was offered the position of teen site director which I hesitantly accepted.

You see, I had never been given an opportunity like this. I did not have any experience in this type of position. I had no faith in myself or my own abilities. However, you apparently seen something in me that I could not at that time see in myself and for that I cannot thank you enough.

Fast forward to where I am today. As I sit here in my very own classroom, the one I had given up on, I can’t help but be reminded of the BGC mission statement “To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens”. I know this is directed towards the youth served by your organization but for me it applies to every person fortunate enough to be a part of the Club.

When I applied for my dream position, I was asked to submit reference letters. One of those letters, had the words, “because Alicia was a leader at Boys & Girls Club, I believe she possess skills that even many teachers do not have that will make her successful in any classroom”. Again, I cannot thank you enough for seeing beyond my brokenness, focusing on my potential and giving me the space and support to dream again.

I have heard the phrase “once a Club kid always a Club kid” many times and I would like to close by saying, I will forever be a Club “kid”. I will forever “bleed blue” and support the Club in any way I possibly can because Great Futures truly Start Here!

Sincerely,
Alicia Melton
CVHS SPED Teacher

#BlueMission