If you’re anything like me, these long, dark, cold (not as cold as some places, but a damp cold none-the-less) days of February make me want to curl up inside and wait for spring. Thankfully, every four years we have the Winter Olympics to distract us! It’s hard to believe it’s already been four years since they were right here in our own amazing hometown and that we got to show off our very best to the world.
In the work that I do, I can’t help but with that we had a similar “Olympic” way to showcase all of the amazingness that we see in our kids here at Boys and Girls Clubs every day. If there was a gold medal for resilience, it could be awarded to every kid who goes to school hungry but still works hard to do his best in class. If bravery was a competition, we know hundreds of kids that should receive a medal for choosing to speak up when they see someone being bullied. And, if generosity of spirit could be rewarded, there’d be no competing with how kids would give away everything they have to someone in need.
Meanwhile, we adults seem to think of kids as “under construction” and needing direction and to learn, and occasionally saying or doing cute things. Next time you’re with a kid (or, if you’re short on that presence in your life, feel free to pop by and see one of the 1,000+ we have in our Clubs every day), I’d encourage you to look a little closer. You might be surprised to discover that they are intensely aware of what’s going on around them, deeply concerned for the well being of others, and that they are wildly optimistic about their own ability to someday make the world a better place. In a word, they are amazing!
That’s why, very soon, we’ll be launching our “amazing kids campaign.” I hope you’ll watch for it, because not only is it about amazing kids, but it’s about helping BGC to keep doing what we do…and to do even more. So far, we’re reaching 12,000 kids and families annually. I’m pretty sure you’d agree that there are even more amazing kids out there for us to reach, and I hope that you’ll help us do that.
More soon,
Carolyn
Carolyn Tuckwell
ctuckwell@bgcbc.ca | 604-879-6554 | @CarolynBGC