My name is Kahlil Greene and I am the undergraduate student body president of Yale University. There's a yellow circle around my face in the picture below. This is me in 2012!
When I was a kid, the
Boys & Girls Club provided a space for me to learn, mature, and explore my interests. I was a before-school, after-school, and summer camp attending Club kid from the age of 7-13. To give you more context, I spent more time at the Club than I did either at school or awake at home! My time there was critical to my development and achievements later on in life:
This past spring, I was the first Black student to ever be elected president of the Yale College Council (YCC). For this accomplishment, I was featured on Buzzfeed, Essence magazine, and I even conducted an interview with Don Lemon live on CNN!
Around this time, I was invited to
reconnect with my local Club and talk to a local politician about the importance of the Club community for youth.
However, during my nostalgic visit, I was told some unfortunate news: a few of the clubs in my area had closed down years earlier because they were not able to fund their operations. Let me explain why:
It costs Clubs $1,500 annually to provide membership resources to one Club member, but Clubs only charge families $50 per year. But even then,
no family has ever been turned away due to an inability to pay.
This model provides invaluable support for youth in the Greater Washington area (where 1 in 5 youth live in poverty) but it is extremely difficult to sustain.
For this reason, I'm teaming up with my local club branch
to raise $10,000 by January 10th, 2020. The money will go directly towards supplies, resources, and programs for Club kids, and it will ensure Boys and Girls Clubs continue to run and provide support for DMV youth.
I would be extremely grateful if you are able to donate and/or share this campaign with your family, friends, colleagues, and fellow alumni. If you bring your community together to contribute, you’ll be providing a community for so many others.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at
[email redacted]! Thank you so much!
