Creating an environment for kids to feel safe, Boys & Girls Club raises $500K at champions breakfast

LACONIA — The Boys & Girls Club of Central and Northern New Hampshire hosted their annual Champions for Kids breakfast at the Margate Resort this month, celebrating donors and community supporters, raising $503,700.

Chris Emond, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central and Northern New Hampshire said this was their "best year ever," and support from the Lakes Region was overwhelming.

Volunteer Chris Kelly said the event started with $186,225 in pledges, even before the morning of the breakfast Oct. 6. Kelly then invited guests to make their own pledges to the cause.

“If your gift is $1,000 or more for five years, you will become a member of the Champions for Kids Society,” Kelly said.

Emond spoke about the mission of the club, which is to help break cycles of hardship and turn children into “happy, productive citizens.”

“It has to be a safe place so the kids feel comfortable speaking their mind,” Emond said. “We do have to have positive role models who are that coach. Sometimes, we are really like the surrogate parents, where we're the ones having that conversation with them.”

Emond emphasized the success of the Boys & Girls Clubs relies heavily on providing a safe, secure environment where children enjoy spending time with and engaging with peers and staff members.

“The best part of my job — it's been 26 years now — is that I'll see kids bringing their own kids in,” Emond said. “But to see them that are now in their 30s, and they've got a house and they're married, and they're bringing in their own kids and they're just saying, 'Hey, I did it. You know, aren't you proud of me?'"

Emond reflected on the club’s recent partnership with Plymouth and Keene state universities. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central and Northern New Hampshire now run programming at the Early Care and Education Center at Plymouth State, and Keene’s Child Development Center.

“We're very proud that we were chosen. There were some for-profits and nonprofits going for that, as well,” Emond said. “And I kind of heard through the back channels, they're like, 'Chris, your organization is going to allow them to continue to operate the way they operate. And we could tell that you were going to be very serious about keeping the staff that they have at these sites.'”

Through the partnership, Emond said they were able to keep 90% of the staff, which was very important to him.

There was a video presentation titled, “Together We Can Do It,” showcasing programs and highlighting real parents who witnessed their children’s growth and development through the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Jessica McDonald, a single mom of three children, spoke about the impact the club has had on her and her children’s lives.

“In 2022, we struck gold when we went to the Boys & Girls Club at the Belmont Early Learning Center,” McDonald said.

McDonald said her children had to witness their mother experience domestic violence, which led to their dad being incarcerated, then having to move and change schools. McDonald said she could not work at first, because multiple daycares told her 4-year old Anna could not stay due to her behavior.

McDonald said she arrived at Belmont Early Learning Center with a lot to deal with: a 4-year old who was throwing tantrums, hitting, kicking, screaming, or throwing things. But the center’s director, Erica Brough, stuck with Anna, and invited McDonald to look through the windows one day at school. She saw Anna tear apart Brough’s office, and finally understood why.

“She told Anna that there was nothing she could do to be kicked out. She was basically stuck with her, and that this place was going to make her feel safe and feel at home,” McDonald said. “That is what changed everything for me. And not just for me, but for Anna. The staff listened to me. They sat with Anna and her hardest moments. They let her feel them. They used positive reinforcement with my daughter every chance that they got to. Their patience with her was endless, because they believed she could overcome anything.

“They helped me become a stronger, wiser mother. And not just mother, but woman.”

To learn more about the Boys & Girls Club, visit nhyouth.org.