The Boys and Girls Club of Osceola helps at-risk children work toward reaching their full potential, but achieving that goal has become a little harder lately.
Officials with the club say they can't serve children without the funding.
- Osceola Boys & Girls Club needs funding
- Club had to close Poinciana location due to lack of funding
- To donate/volunteer, visit its website: www.bgccf.org
Sixteen-year-old Diamond Johnson looks forward to coming out to the Boys and Girls Club every single day.
"It changed me a lot. I like the person it turned me into," she said.
But that wasn't always the case.
"When I first started, I know I definitely had an attitude problem. I was so disrespectful, like I just didn't care,” Diamond explained. “Like you told me what to do, okay well, you're not my mom so you can't tell me what to do."
Diamond has had a rough childhood, but she said this club has helped her get through it.
"At a time when my mom was struggling, and we were moving from house to house … the club was here for me. Even if she couldn't give me a meal, the club got me one,” she said. “Even if I didn't have a home at the time, the club was here to be my home … It was my solid ground."
The Boys and Girls Club was there to support her, but now it needs some support of its own. In fact, due to the lack of funding they had to close down their Poinciana location.
"Everybody is trying as hard as they can to work collaboratively and together, but it's going to take a little bit of time,” said Gary Cain, President and CEO for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida. “And so those of us who are in the field of trying to help people know we have to work together. We have to continue to reach and almost never will there be enough resources."
Cain said the rise in population within the area may have something to do with it. He said the Tupperware Brands location in Osceola has about 80 families on their waiting list.
It's a need Cain hopes they can push through to get more kids on track, just like Diamond.
"It motivated me to get up every morning, go to school and work hard," she added.
The Boys and Girls Club only receives 3 percent of funding from the national chapter — the rest has to be raised at a local level.
If you'd like to contribute or volunteer your time, check out their website: www.bgccf.org.