Denver Boys & Girls Clubs teach leadership, promote good character
CBS Colorado's Together for Colorado Toy Drive ensures that every member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver gets a gift during the holiday season. It's part of the mission of the clubs to let the children enjoy being young, and nothing does that better than a new toy. Many of the members think of the club as a second home.
"It's fun, and all the teachers are funny," said 7-year-old Catalina.
Catalina relies on the teachers at the Boys & Girls Club to help her practice addition and subtraction. She loves to go to the club every day after school. She especially likes doing science project like making slime. She's starting to get excited for Christmas.
"Because I like the presents, and I like to decorate our tree," Catalina said.
While Catalina practices math at the club, her older sister tends goal in a pick-up game of soccer. Lucia loves the holidays too.
"I love giving presents because I love making other people happy and see how they react, and I want to see what they do with it. Yeah, I like to see them smile," Lucia told CBS News Colorado.
Lucia is a leader at her club. She won Youth of the Year.
"I had to really kind of be a role model for the other kids. I had to be kind to the other kids who are not younger too. I had to play games right too, like not cheat or anything," she explained.
Lucia takes her responsibility as role model seriously. She wants to be someone that her sister and her friends can look up to.
"I like to show one person. It goes on to another person and another person, and they show another person.. and yeah," she said.
When Lucia needs a role model, she knows she can turn to the staff at the Boys & Girls Club.
"They care about you like a lot, a lot," she said. "It feels good because you feel like you're special. You feel like they're there for you every time," Lucia said.
10-year-old Olivier relies on his club too.
"I like about it because you can do anything, go to different activities. You can learn about different things," he told CBS News Colorado.
For many club members, like Olivier, going home after school comes with extra responsibility.
"I need to take care of one of my siblings because if my Mom is doing something else, I need to help her out," Olivier explained.
Olivier doesn't mind helping his Mom, but the club offers children the chance to just enjoy being children. That's where the Together for Colorado Toy Drive come in. Club members get so excited to get something new for themselves or to share.
"I got Transformer toys...Star Wars toys," Olivier said. "I like giving them to my brother."
That's exactly how Boys & Girls Club members roll during the holidays.
LINK: Together for Colorado Toy Drive
The Together for Colorado Toy Collection Day is Thursday, December 12, 2024. Michelle Griego, Brian Flores, Karen Leigh, and Michael Spencer will be collecting toys at the King Soopers at Colorado & Yale from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Your Reporter in Aurora, Tori Mason, will be at the Smoky Hill Marketplace King Soopers from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Your Reporter in Douglas County, Olivia Young, will be at the store on S. University Blvd. in Highlands Ranch from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Your Reporter in Jefferson County, Andrew Haubner and Karen Morfitt, will be at the King Soopers at Bel Mar from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Your Reporter in Adams County, Gabriela Vidal, will be at the new King Soopers in Thornton from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.