“Before I came here, I barely had any friends at school. I was a big laughing stock. And now whenever I’m here it makes me happy for who I am.”

Elizabeth chose to be featured in the art room because it’s her favorite place and she loves spending time with Miss Jess.

ELIZABETH

8 years old
JWR Boys & Girls Club
Member for 1 year
Future veteran

What do you love about the Club?

I love the art room because you can do a lot of things, Miss Jess is always in here, she’s a very nice art teacher, and I love the Club because it’s so nice. Kids can just be their selves and play around.

I like to come here cuz I get to play with my friends and talk to the staff and have fun.

How has the Club impacted your life?

The first time I went here I was barely talking, I barely even spoke, I just didn’t get many friends. And one year later I’m like this! I’m happy and cheerful.

What made the difference here?

Everything here. It changed my life. It was awesome.

What are some things you’ve been able to do here? What’s a unique opportunity you’ve had?

Making friends. At first I barely had any friends at school. I was a big laughing stock. And now whenever I’m here it makes me happy for who I am.

What’s something you’re proud of.

I’m proud of a lot of things. I’m proud of having a family, I’m proud of the United States. I’m proud of a lot of things.

Describe the Club in one word:

Amazing. Because everyone gets to be their selves.

What’s something you’ll always remember about the Club?

Playing outside and I’ll always remember the Club no matter what. Everyone just gets to be their selves and have fun and no one gets worried. And you don’t have to worry about bad things happening here.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a veteran. I want to save people’s lives and that’s always what I wanted to do.

What have you learned at the Club?

They teach me a lot of things. They teach me how to have fun, they teach me a lot of things.

I’ve learned how to do art with Miss Jess. There’s a lot of cool things that happen here. Like sometimes people get to build stuff. Like in the music room or Lego robotics. Same thing. Whenever they build stuff it moves. Like the birds up there, they’ve been there for a long time.

Anything else?

Well, I wanna add that the staff here are amazing. They always risk their lives for anything. They’ll do anything to help you, make you happy, anything.

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