From Cassy’s perspective, “When there was no one else to reach out to, I knew I could turn to the staff at the Boys & Girls Club. Without my mentors at the Club, I wouldn’t have had the strength to continue my studies while my family was homeless. I have come to think of the Boys & Girls Club as not only a place to go to after school, but a refuge and a home away from home.”

“Cassy is incredibly hard-working and driven,” says Meghan Sweet, Club Executive Director of Wallingford Boys & Girls Club. “She won’t let her challenges get in the way of her success. The Club has provided her a second home, while she in turn has helped make the Club the type of warm, welcoming place we strive to provide all our members. The world needs more young women like Cassy, who prove that anyone who is given a place and an opportunity to develop their potential can become a community leader.”

Cassy is passionate about humanizing and elevating the voices of individuals who are homeless. Cassy herself has experienced homelessness, and wants to share real stories of individuals who are homeless to deconstruct the misunderstandings of this label. She co-founded a student organization where she and other students interview homeless individuals and share their stories on a Facebook page called “The Unheard Voices of Seattle.”

A member of Wallingford Boys & Girls Club for three years, Cassy is proud of her involvement at the Club, where she is a member of the Keystone teen leadership program, tutors elementary school kids during homework help, and has volunteered organizing events like Parents’ Night Out and the Halloween Hoopla.