Five years ago giving back was a foreign concept to Alissa. A typical teenager, she spent the majority of her time on the computer or on the phone with friends. She was more interested in being cool at high school than learning about her community. While exercising at her local YMCA she read a notice board announcing a Y-Teen Night and decided to attend. That experience, Alissa says, “changed my life.”
Now, Alissa is enforcing the rules that she was once held to. She joined the YMCA’s Youth Making a Difference, engaging other teens in social development and service projects in the community, and quickly became president. She also serves as the teen representative on the Y’s board of directors.
“Alissa is a great example of the positive impact a youth program can have on a teen’s life. From 8th grade through her senior year, I watched Alissa grow into a confident, moral leader who brings out the best in others,” says Cory Amstrong-Hoss, Alissa’s mentor and program director at the Y.
Thanks to United Way-funded programs like the Y’s service learning and civic engagement programs, Alissa was given the opportunity to channel her energy in positive ways that have connected her to the community and given her valuable leadership skills. She has a close group of friends who also care about their community and are activists for change, recently traveling to Olympia to lobby elected officials on behalf of pro-youth legislation.
“If it wasn’t for programs focused on teens, we would not be educated about life experiences, would not have positive role models and would not be connected to volunteer opportunities that connect us to our community. We would probably be on the streets causing trouble,” states Alissa. “I now have the fulfillment that I am making a difference. These programs are a lot of fun, but it’s about the people you are helping that makes it worth it.”