Finding a way to respectfully support our families who, despite their best efforts, were having an especially hard time at Christmas was at the top of the agenda when I joined Boys and Girls Clubs way back in December 2005. The debate swirled, both internally and with our donors…
“Do families really need this kind of help?”
“Does help like this simply enable families?”
What I’ve discovered is that when it comes to needing help, two things are true:
1. It is extraordinarily difficult to ask for help – especially when we may be judged for needing it.
2. Because of Boys and Girls Clubs’ trusted relationships, the help we give families is met with gratitude because there is no shame associated with it.
Within the second point is a secret: when we provide help to a family through BGC, it is actually two gifts: the help itself, and the gift of dignity.
Families know that we aren’t going to judge them, and that we aren’t going to make them go through the humiliating exercise of proving that they are, in fact, poor enough to need the help we are offering. We believe them and we believe in them.
As Christmas approaches and the holiday season is upon us, I challenge you to consider what’s possible when you invest in kids who live right here among us. A gift to Boys and Girls Clubs will tell our kids they matter and that we believe in them. Please give generously today.
We hope that 2016 is filled with promise, hope and laughter – just like every one of Boys and Girls Clubs’ amazing kids.
More soon,
Carolyn
President & CEO
Boys & Girls Clubs of South Coast BC
ctuckwell@bgcbc.ca | @CarolynBGC