My name is Chantel Dahlia Tafoya Sanchez, and I am proud to tell you who I am. When I was five years old, I didn’t know the pain and suffering my family would go through. I didn’t know that we could become a statistic, our lives ruined by violence and addiction. But I did know that I had found a safe place to go that would become my place of refuge, where I could learn and grow. For the last thirteen years, my Boys & Girls Club has helped me become who I am today.
I participated in all the Boys & Girls Clubs programs…I honed my athletic abilities, studied countless hours with the help of the education staff and resources, and participated in numerous leadership programs…all of which made a tremendous impact on my life. But there are so many other ways my Club has helped shape my life…
The Club is where we ate our meals. Every single night after school, I knew I had a hot, nutritious meal waiting for me at the Club. Without this meal, more than 50% of our kids would not eat dinner.
The Club is where I received clothes to wear to school. Hundreds of children whose families can’t –or won’t-buy them clothes or school supplies sponsored every year.
The Club sponsored assistance for my vision needs and made sure I had a toothbrush and proper dental care. The Club’s Dave Pratt Dental Clinic provides more than 2,500 dental services each year for youth in need.
The Club prepared me for the future. They helped me earn scholarships to attend Arizona State University to become an emergency room physician. In fact, the Club has scholarship programs that will allow members to attend universities throughout the country…Vanderbilt, Princeton, Berkeley just to name a few, as well as schools right here at home.
My first trip outside of my community was with the Boys & Girls Club, and my most memorable trip, in September 2005, was to meet with President George Bush in the Oval Office, where I told him just how important the Boys & Girls Club has been in my life. And, yes, that trip was because of my Club.
The Club is where I always had the support and guidance of adult mentors who I knew really cared about what happened to me.
The Boys & Girls Clubs has helped define me every step of the way.
I am now a freshman at ASU, starting a new chapter in my life. But I will never forget the lessons I learned along the way – lessons that make me who I am today. I am no longer a child, but I will forever be a Boys & Girls Club kid.
My name is Chantel Dahlia Tafoya Sanchez, and I am proud to tell you who I am.