MONTHLY SPOTLIGHTS
SHARING OUR STORIES OF IMPACT.
Autumn Dodge Inspiring Great Journeys
Meet our resident traveler, Autumn Dodge. As a program instructor in Bridgman, Autumn loves sharing stories of her travels with Club kids. She has several favorite vacation spots where she enjoys traveling, but number one on her list right now is Italy. Autumn has been traveling all her life and been all around the world and she has no plans of stopping anytime soon.
Autumn was born in Great Falls, Montana and moved with her family to Berrien Springs, Michigan when she was just 6 months old so that they could be closer to family. Traveling is just one of her many passions along with singing, reading and devotion for religion.
Autumn’s Club journey began a few years ago when she was living in Alaska and working as a Youth Development Professional Aid. Autumn served two years in that role before once again moving back to Berrien Springs. While her Club journey might’ve just begun in Alaska, her passion for working with youth started long before that when she was just a teenager working at Bible retreats and Bible studies with her grandma.
This passion has stuck with her as she has always made it a point in her life to help others as much as she could. Upon her return to Michigan she discovered one of her close friends worked for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Southwest Michigan so Autumn asked if she would deliver her resume to the Unit Director at her Club. Shortly after, Autumn was interviewing for a Youth Development Professional position at our Bridgman school site.
According to Autumn the best part of her day is when Club kids greet her walking down the hallway during school and give her a big hug. This is how she knows that she is making an impact on Club members but it also makes her feel like a mini celebrity. Autumn went on to say, “My favorite part of my job is playing games, in particular board games, with the kids because it’s a less formal way of connecting and building relationships with our members. I’ve found that they tend to open up more and tell you about what is really going on in their lives which in turn allows me to better support them and give them any assistance that they may be needing.”
Autumn continued by saying, “The most important part of my job is to make sure that we provide a safe place for all of our members to come and build a brighter future for themselves.”
When asked what her favorite program at the Club is, Autumn responded by saying, “SMART Girls is my favorite program because it provides girls with a safe place to gather and open up about issues that they might be facing. This allows us all to learn together and become stronger together. Another important aspect of SMART Girls is learning self care and understanding that we are all enough just the way we are and that we don’t need to pretend to be something that we’re not to gain the approval of others.”
As for the future, Autumn hopes to one day have a big family of her own; but, until then, she wants to continue to explore the world and find new ways to make it a better place for everyone to live.
