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Dionne’s Story
Both Dionne’s* parents are drug addicts. Dionne was
abused her whole life until she finally left home.
Thankfully Dionne found the Boys and Girls Club when
she was 5 years old. “I don’t call my house a home
because for me, my home was the Club. The Club was
the place I could go to for everything I needed. It
was my safe place.”
Dionne, now 22, recalls, “The staff there made sure
I was warm, fed and as happy as they could make me.
Whenever an opportunity for a program or event
happened, the staff made sure I was signed up. The
Club was where I went every day.” Dionne relied on
the support she received at the Boys and Girls Club.
She had role models who nurtured her, guided her and
supported her throughout her difficult childhood.
Dionne spent almost every waking moment for 13 years
in that Club, and without the love and support of
the qualified staff, she may have continued on a
harmful path.
Dionne never gave up - nor did the staff. She’s now
working as an LPN and hopes to complete her degree
in nursing soon. She is just one of the children who
has benefited from United Way’s standards of
excellence that we require of our funded programs.
And part of that is making sure that agency staff
have the capacity, resources and quality training to
identify and help children like Dionne needed to be
helped.
Dionne is now giving back to the community and the
future has never been brighter.
* Name has been changed
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