By Krys Estes
Contributing Writer
As the Brigade Boys and Girls Club celebrates 120 years of service to the Cape Fear region, the club’s CEO said it continues to have a strong impact on young people.
“You hear a lot about famous people and their success with the boys and girls club, but the really cool part of the club are the kids you will never hear about who come through the club, find a way to stay out of trouble, develop a life goal, take the values they have learned here and live the American Dream,” said David Carriker, Brigade Boys and Girls Club CEO. “This is the great symphonic piece, those unknown and unsung everyday people who outside of a small circle of friends and family no one knows them, but did their duty and what was expected of them. They are the fabric of who we are as a nation.”
The Brigade Boys and Girls Club serves more than 2,400 children a year in 13 facilities located in New Hanover, Onslow and Pender counties. But the vision of the club founded in 1896 by Colonel Walker Taylor, prominent Wilmington businessman, civic leader and North Carolina militia officer, still holds today.
“Many of our kids come from hard situations such as living in poverty. Some come from good families, but just have fewer opportunities. Our mission is to lead our youth to become productive, caring and responsible citizens,” Carriker said. “These kids are looking for affirmation, someone to say, ‘I see you and I am with you every step of the way,’ and it is so rewarding.”
Cindy Anzalotti, Brigade director of development and marketing, said that with most youth crimes taking place from 3-7 p.m. when kids get out of school, the boys and girls club provides a positive alternative.
Many of the Brigade’s members have a family member in the military. The average high school teen in a military family moves six times before they complete high school, Anzalotti said, and those teens go through a lot of suffering and changes that a teen in a normal family situation will ever experience.
“It’s always a challenge to help these kids when they struggle wondering if their mother or father is coming home,” Anzalotti said.
Carriker said he wants the anniversary to raise more awareness of the Brigade Boys and Girls Club’s mission and to help generate more funding for crucial programs. Club organizers are currently planning a 120th anniversary party with a goal to raise $45,000.
“You don’t have to be able to write thousand dollar checks to make a difference,” Carriker said. “We are proud of the wonderful men and women who knew they could make it and do on a day-to-day basis and never gave up. These kids are as deserving, equally valuable and matter as much to the world as any other child.”
One program club organizers are planning is a music studio, which will offer a place where members can share their emotions artistically and with a positive message. Whether it is finding a voice through music, art, the written word or on the basketball court, organizers said they want to ensure their kids are free to have a voice.
“One of the most important things we do is to give these kids a positive voice,” Carriker said. “Anger is a hardwired emotion and if you haven’t been taught how to express your emotions otherwise when you are frustrated, life is hard, you can’t figure a way out, everything seems unfair and you know it’s unfair, you want to be like everyone else but you want to be different, you want to have a voice and they need a voice.”
Often, Anzalotti said, she is grateful for the “reality check” that is the rewarding work she does with the club.
“When we had Thanksgiving here and asked what the kids were thankful for, they just said things that killed you: a blanket, a bed, a pair of shoes,” Anzalotti said. “One of our teen girls who works for us recently got adopted and it brought me to tears. Can you imagine being 16 years old and finally having someone to call ‘mom and dad?’”
