Listed left to right: Austina Burns, Leslie Mera-Sanchez, Melissa Wong and Lupita Landa
In 2022, new funding allowed Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County to revisit and revive our Jr. Staff Program which led to the Workforce Leadership Program, a paid internship that offers youth ages 16-18 the chance to support Club, lead programs and mentor youth. Currently, five youth are on staff as part of this program.
The program is funded through a Workforce Innovation Grant awarded by Larimer County Economic & Workforce Development. Workforce Leaders have participated at the Wellington, Fort Collins, Loveland-Pulliam, and Harmony sites.
Melissa Wong, a senior in high school, always wanted to make an impact. According to Wong, Boys & Girls Clubs gave her a chance to bring her knowledge of music to youth. She founded the Music Program at Harmony Village where she loves seeing youth find songs, sing and get engulfed in music.
“Getting this real-life experience of working with a community organization, working with kids that I’m impacting as a role model, has helped me develop leadership qualities that will be extremely helpful to me in my career and as a person in general,” Wong said.
Leslie Mera-Sanchez has been a Club member since she was 6 years old. Growing up in Club has allowed her to bond and understand youth at Harmony Village. She has loved seeing members grow over the years to where they are now. She credits her Club experience to her dream of being a pediatrician one day.
“Coming back to Club struck a passion in me to work with little kids,” Mera-Sanchez said. “It’s opened my eyes to a whole other world that I didn’t realize before.”
Austina Burns, BGCLC Staff at Harmony Village, enjoys seeing the Workforce Leaders apply their learning to mentoring youth and watching their connections grow.
“I’ve witnessed every single one of them become super patient,” Burns said. “It’s nice to see them grow and, hopefully, they want to be staff one day. I want to show them that Boys & Girls Clubs have all of these opportunities, not just right now during high school, but in life.”