By Libby Saylor Wright, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta
What does it take to change the trajectory of a young person’s life?
Sometimes it is a caring adult who shows up at exactly the right moment; a safe place where a young person can focus, ask questions, and discover something they did not know they could do; or access to an amazing opportunity. The opportunity may be a college visit, internship, scholarship, first interview, or chance to stand in front of a room and find their voice. Sometimes, it is simply having someone say, “I believe you can.”
But lasting impact rarely comes from one moment. It is built over time, through relationships, experiences, resources, and opportunities that help young people become confident, capable, and ready for what comes next. That is the work we are committed to doing at Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta.
The Investment Behind the Impact
Through our Lasting Impact 2030 strategic plan, we have set an ambitious goal: to help drive economic mobility in Metro Atlanta by cultivating young people who are ready for the real world.
We know that economic mobility is influenced by factors far beyond the walls of a Boys & Girls Club and that we cannot solve every barrier a young person may face. But we can help prepare them to navigate those barriers. We can help them develop the academic foundation, relationships, character, leadership, and life and workforce skills they need to recognize opportunities and be prepared to seize them. And we can connect them to the people, experiences, and resources that make opportunities more accessible.
In my last article, I spoke about what it takes to prepare a young person for the real world and drive economic mobility across Metro Atlanta. As a youth-serving organization, partnership matters to our work and we need the support of “employers willing to create pathways into their industries; educators who help young people connect learning to possibility; mentors who invest their time and experience; philanthropists who understand that an investment in youth is an investment in the future workforce and the future of our communities; and families and communities that believe young people deserve not only to dream, but to have a genuine opportunity to achieve those dreams.”
This is the level of community investment that is required to ensure our young people are exposed to the right people and the right experiences that help them see a future for themselves.
We are intentional about how our club members spend their time in our clubs each day, and each hour has the potential for lasting impact. An hour might look like homework help, the extra encouragement a student needs to master a difficult concept, or the difference between feeling frustrated and feeling capable. But one hour becomes another hour, then another. Then hours of experiences that build on one another. And the relationships built over time often become a source of confidence that lasts well beyond a young person’s time at the Club. This is how lasting impact is created, not all at once, but through consistent investment in young people and in environments where they can learn, grow, and thrive.
We See the Impact in Our Young People
One of the most powerful examples of impact is our Youth of the Year program. Each year, exceptional Club members ages 14 to 18 step forward to represent their Clubs. They are young people demonstrating academic achievement, leadership, and a commitment to serving their communities. But the program is about more than selecting one winner. It is about giving young people a platform to discover and develop their voice; helping them prepare for interviews, strengthen their public-speaking skills, tell their stories, and recognize the leadership capacity they already possess; and surrounding them with mentors and adults who are willing to invest their time, experience, and belief in what these young people can become.
This is top of mind, as we plan for our annual Youth of the Year Gala on November 6. We will gather to celebrate these remarkable young leaders and the journey that brought them to this moment. This year’s celebration will be hosted, once again, by Atlanta media legend Monica Pearson. And I am excited that she will be joined by actor, writer, and singer Keith D. Robinson, an accomplished, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta alum who understands firsthand the transformative power of the Boys & Girls Club.
The evening will be a celebration, but it is also an investment in our young people and what comes next for them. Because when we celebrate a young person’s achievement, we are also saying something important about what we believe is possible for every young person.
And when we talk about lasting impact, it is easy to focus on the moment we can see, like the student receiving an award, the graduate walking across a stage, the young person landing an internship or starting a career. But, as I shared above, behind every one of those moments are countless moments that came before, and a community of staff members, mentors, donors, corporate partners, volunteers, and parents who trusted us with their children. Our Youth of the Year program is filled with many of these foundational moments.
As we approach the end of this year, I hope you will consider what you can do to create lasting impact. Maybe it is a small donation to support academic success; a volunteer hour spent mentoring a young person; a corporate partnership that creates a pathway into an industry; a larger philanthropic investment that helps us expand the reach and depth of our programming; or simply sharing the story of what is possible when a community believes in its young people.
Whatever form it takes, it matters. Because the young people in our Clubs are not simply preparing for the future, they are our future workforce, our future leaders, our future entrepreneurs, our future neighbors, and our future community builders. And an investment in them is the surest investment we can make today as a community; that will shape the Metro Atlanta we all share tomorrow.
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