Youth Impact

Meet Jaeda Perry, our Youth of the Year winner.

“This place has been a home, a shelter, and a family.”

Jaeda Perry, our Youth of the Year winner, says when she first joined Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond, she was shy and hesitant to “show my true self.”

As the Club continued to welcome her with open arms, she found herself through programs such as SMART Girls, Torch Club, dancing, and sewing.

Today, Jaeda says that whether it’s the relationships she’s developed, or the feeling she gets when she’s at the Club, it has always been a place where she can, “be heard, be true, be safe, but most importantly — be myself.”

She loves reminiscing about the “old days” while she also excitedly looks toward her future.

“It’s just another step in my journey, in which the Club will support me. I want to thank the Club for the milestones I’ve been able to achieve because of them.”