Page 13 - BGC prototype

OFD Brendan McDonald, BGCD Director of Program Development OFD (Originally From Dorchester) is a real thing, whether you’re eight or eighty. It’s in your DNA. Just ask Brendan McDonald. His grandparents emigrated from Ireland and chose to settle in Dorchester or San Francisco with the lip of a coin. Brendan is forever grateful Dorchester won out. His family moved briely to a nearby town, but the pull of OFD brought them back and they all live there still. Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester has a similar gravitational pull. Brendan joined the club at age ive. His parents knew the club had a great reputation and “all those activities for ive bucks a year? It was a no-brainer!” He discovered that he loved basketball and was good at it. Mentors at the club gave him every opportunity to hone his skills. Club play led to four years of high school and college play. But it wasn’t just about the love of the game; Brendan learned deeper lessons of teamwork, sportsmanship, and earning and paying respect. The climate and culture of the club is a constant. “There is something here for every kid – music, art, sports, cooking.” Underneath it all is the very strong sense that “when you’re here, you belong.” Brendan moved from teen staffer to program coordinator right out of college and has grown into his role as Director of Program Development. He is now one of the role models and it is very satisfying to see members mature and develop a real sense of themselves. “Without the club, I really don’t know where I’d be right now.” So he keeps that top of mind – how encouragement and support can have a outsized inluence on a kid’s life. He observes that “even the smallest gesture can change a kid’s whole day. A bad day can turn around with a smile.” 11