For Iz’Shana, the Boys & Girls Club of Newark is home.
Since first attending BGCN at the age of six, Iz’Shana has grown up in the Club, engaging with our various afterschool and summer programming. She has been involved in BGCN’s Teen Center activities since 2014. She loves coming to BGCN, spending time in the Teen Center, participating in our dance and music programming, getting active in the gym, and going on Club trips.
Through the Teen Center, Iz’Shana has taken part in numerous professional development experiences. Last year, she went to Grace West Manor, a housing facility for senior citizens in which her grandmother resides, with other BGCN Teen Members. The experience pushed her out of her comfort zone. Iz’Shana has taken her service through BGCN’s Teen Center a step further, acting as this year’s president of BGCN’s Keystone Club, a leadership and service experience that fosters academic success, career exploration, and community service. She has also been engaged in professional development programming like CareerLaunch, a job-readiness, and career-preparation program.
Over the summer, she participated in the Summer of Service program, a stipended volunteer and professional development experience for selected Teens. During the program, she went on Teen Center volunteer outings to serve food at Newark Penn station, clean up trash in the South Ward, support the work of the Newark Conservatory Hawthorne Ave Farm and the Community Food Bank, while also aiding in community outreach events like our Summer Pop-Up Playstreets initiative. She also got to interview a host of prominent Newark figures like Traymanesha Moore, Executive Director of Newark Thrives, Congressman Donald Payne Jr., and Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, Newark school board chair.
Along with other Summer of Service youth, Iz’Shana took an active role in planning BGCN’s first GirlSport event, a lifestyle, nutrition, and self-care workshop designed to empower girls.
“I felt lost and confused when I was younger. When I got here, I actually felt loved and cared about.”
New Jersey, this morning we introduce you to Ms. Iz’Shana.