When You Support the Club, You Help Kids Like Non-Verbal Armani Come Out of Their Shell and Feel Loved
What if you couldn’t ask your child what hurts, how their day was, or even hear them say I love you?
That was Kayla and Armani’s reality. Armani has Autism and when he first joined the Club, he was completely non-verbal.
At the Club, you give non-verbal Armani a place to come out of his shell, be accepted, and make friends! Thank you for believing all kids deserve to be loved and accepted!
With most family members on drugs and no support network to help with childcare, single mom Kayla was severely limited on how many hours she could work as a result. She couldn’t work more than part-time, because she didn’t have anywhere for Armani to go when he wasn’t at school. Armani struggled with expressing himself because he could hardly communicate, and he used to throw things at adults and other children.
Both Kayla and Armani felt so alone as they struggled from paycheck to paycheck. When COVID hit, she had no money or resources for her son. It was a very dark time.
Then you stepped in. Your support helped Kayla break the cycle of poverty for her family.
You ensured that Armani and his mother had a safe place to turn to by giving them a Boys & Girls Club. You helped Kayla be a better mom because she finally had some relief and support.
Thanks to you, the Club’s positive behavior reward system has helped Armani’s development. Kayla and Armani also get healthy food through the Club.
You Invest in Families, So They Can Invest in Themselves and Their Futures
Kayla wants you to know that you turn pain into progress. You enable Boys & Girls Club of Pulaski to care for children so that single mothers can care for themselves and their families.
With Armani safe at the Boys & Girls Club after school, Kayla was able to work more hours and received a promotion to become a manager at Taco Bell!
Before they were barely making ends meet, but now Kayla can save money.
“We used to live paycheck to paycheck. Now I have savings,” Kayla says.
You made this new reality possible for Kayla and her family.
“The Club helps me take better care of myself so I can take better care of him,” Kayla says.
You are making Armani feel loved and included at the Club, and teaching him how to express himself and his needs!
Thanks to you, Armani was able to make incredible progress by being at the Club. Armani can now communicate with Club staff and expresses himself more clearly. He can tell his mother that he loves her, and Armani also talks about healthy foods and much more.
Armani is paying attention to his positive role models at the Club and has become a class leader. Now, Armani is speaking clearly and telling his peers, “Make good choices!”
Thanks to you, Armani has learned patience at the Club. He used to throw things, but Club staff taught him appropriate ways to react to whatever he is feeling. Now he has learned to take deep breaths and apologize instead.
You helped Armani become empathetic and kind as he found inclusion at the Club.
You also provided him with much-needed routine and consistency from the staff at the Club.
“Armani has come so far since he first started with us at the Club two years ago,” says Giles County Director Devon Yurko. “Our staff has also learned how to make modifications for him—so instead of making him sit through a 45-minute program, we come up with alternative activities to keep him busy and engaged.”
“It’s been so long since we’ve been stressed out, that I don’t remember what we were so stressed out about anymore,” Kayla shares.
Click here to donate TODAY and support kids like Armani this holiday season!