This story was originally published by the Rutland Herald on March 13, 2025
On any given weekday, you can hear laughter and see smiles through the heavily decorated front windows of the Boys & Girls Club at 75 Merchants Row in Rutland.
And when you step into the building, you will be greeted by a friendly and safe environment. You’ll see around 40 kids who are learning and developing life skills with smiles on their faces.
And alongside the youth in the club you’ll see the committed staff who are devoting their time and energy back into their community.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America offers its services at 5,400 sites across the United States, 13 of which are housed in Rutland County.
“We offer after school care to somewhere around 330 kids daily,” said Malik Hines, director of operations for the Boys & Girls Club of Rutland County and Castleton University graduate. “We’re serving around 300 kids snacks and 150 to 160 kids dinner every day.”
Nicole Rice, executive director (and another Castleton alumna), has been working with the organization for three years.
“We employ somewhere between 15-20 VTSU Castleton students each year,” Rice said. “Very often Castleton students come on as interns or substitute staff and then we end up hiring them on in my permanent roles, many advancing to site coordinators and directors.”
The Boys & Girls Club of Rutland County employs many individuals who have a strong commitment and passion for serving the youth of the area, and almost all of these employees are former or current students at Castleton.
“Our growth over the course of the last year and a half would absolutely not have been possible without Castleton students,” Rice said. “The partnership that we have with the Castleton Campus is something that we are very proud of and grateful for.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s mission statement is to enable all young people, especially those who need them most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.
“Castleton students come to us with such diverse interest and skills that really help support our mission. We have athletes who focus on teaching healthy lifestyles, social work majors who support our social/emotional learning goals and mentors with strong art skills that support talent building within our club kids,” Rice said.
Iris Hudson, who serves as director of finance, has been working with the club for five years and started when she was a student at Castleton.
“It’s very easy to build a community within the Boys & Girls Club because a lot of our staff have a connection through Castleton,” Hudson said.
Hines also spoke about the connection to Castleton.
“It’s all about the people you meet and the relationships you build that allow you to get to the places you want to be,” Hines said. “And Castleton has allowed me to meet a bunch of people within the community who I still work with to this day.”
Both Hudson and Hines regularly connect with former professors from Castleton to further the reach of the organization and ensure it is meeting the youths’ needs.
“We’re even more of a family than what people might think because we have these ties to Castleton,” Hines said.
When asked what makes club fun, Araya Allen, 8, offered a quick response.
“The staff,” she said.
This is a common feeling among many club members, says Hines.
“Some of the members are not only coming back because of their friends and the programming, but because of the connections they’ve made with our college age staff,” Hines said.
Wyatt Jackson Jr, a current member of the VTSU Castleton master’s program, has been working at the club for over a year.
Not only have these Castleton students and graduates positively contributed to the communities and youth of Rutland County, but they also say they have been positively impacted by the connections they have made.
“What the kids have done for me, and also what the entire program has done for myself, has given me not only a sense of community but a sense of belonging,” Jackson said.
