Reflections on Boys Town

Each year we receive letters and notes from children and families who we’ve had the opportunity to help through the support of our generous donors. These heartfelt messages remind us that hope can be found in even the darkest places.

Anthony

I have been here for three years. Before I came to Boys Town, I stole and got in all kinds of trouble. I did not want to come. A lot of people have really, really helped me. The main thing that helped me here is that when I am really down, I have friends. We all need somebody there to pick us up. Those are my friends. You need somebody outside yourself to tell you it is going to be okay.

Juanita

When I came here, I knew I needed help and then I discovered everybody needs help. It took me a long time to accept all the love that you can get here. What I realized after being here and finding a real family is that my friends back home weren’t real friends. They just cared about drugs and alcohol and having a good time.

Kendra

Before I came, I was headed down the same path everyone in my family took. No one in the neighborhood graduated from high school where I grew up. I didn’t care what I was doing wrong. I hated going to school. I would go out drinking with my friends and get into fights. During my time here, my mom got really sick and died. I knew I was going to lose her. She fell in to a coma. I almost gave up. It was my Family-Teachers who hung in there with me, loved me and helped me dream a dream and live that dream. I now have a future that I never thought I would have. Thank you.

Mandy

Before I came, I was a mess. No one in my family graduated from high school and I thought it was a waste of time. I was a person with no purpose. When I came, I was furious. I wanted to leave and thought it was unfair. I thought it was going to be like another foster home where they tell you one minute they care and the next minute they don’t care. I couldn’t believe it…. They cared. They kept hanging in. Even when I rejected them, they kept hanging in. They taught me what it means to be a family. I thought before I came that families only fought, argued and drank together. I know that is not true now. I thank my Family-Teachers for not letting me use that as an excuse. I have grown up.

William

When I came to Boys Town, I was what people called a juvenile delinquent. I was wandering the streets carrying a gun and unstoppable. Many times I came close to dying myself. The last time was my wake-up call. I went to the detention center and that was one of the best things to happen to me because I heard then about Boys Town and I came. When I came, I was determined to change. I didn’t want what I had been through. When I got in trouble, I picked myself up and kept going. This was due to my Family-Teachers. Without them, I could not be successful. I learned to love my Family-Teachers’ little child. He did not see me as a bad kid, but as a big brother. So how could I be bad? They have helped me be a leader. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Rosemary

What Boys Town has done for me the past four years is a lot.  I have many things I would never have had if I were not here… a home, a family and a pride of accomplishment.  Boys Town has given me what no one else was able to give me.  Boys Town is my home and family.  I know what life is really about.

Joseph

Boys Town has given me a second and third chance. It has welcomed me with open arms when everyone else had given up on me. Being here has opened up many doors of opportunity I wouldn’t have dreamed of. I am graduating high school and heading off to college. Most importantly, it has given me the motivation to do things right.

Danielle

Boys Town has given me the strength to be an outstanding leader. I was also given a second chance to improve my life, a chance to forgive myself and become a better person.  Boys Town has given me the opportunity to participate on a daily basis in church, in the community and the home. I made honor roll. I was able to grow spiritually and emotionally stronger. 

Steven

Thanks to Boys Town I have the opportunity to go to college and learn in a career that I love and will enjoy.  You have changed me from a young, emotional 14-year-old to a ready and willing 18-year-old.  Boys Town has given me the skills I will use in life and I am very, very grateful.

Anne

Before I came to Boys Town, my mom told me I was bad and always will be bad. She told me so many times that I started to believe it. But it turned out differently. To get better, you first have to believe you can get better and just follow the right path. If you believe in yourself, you can do anything with God’s help.

Jamie

My struggle first began when I was held back in the fifth grade. I had been so sick, I couldn’t catch up. My classmates teased me that I would never catch up. They said I was dumb. When I came to Boys Town, I had the IQ of a fourth-grader. I have been working very hard. I am now in the seventh grade, moving to the eighth grade, and I’m proud to say my IQ is now at the eight-grade level.

The stories provided about the children and families in our care are real. In some cases, names my be changed and details altered to protect their privacy and therapeutic interests.