Each month we thank an individual, business and/or organization who supports our efforts. This month’s gratification post is to Antoniyo Christiansen!
Antoniyo grew up coming to the Center as a young child and we are so proud of the young adult that he has become. He eventually joined us as part-time staff for both our summer camp and after school program, through the YouthWorks Employment program, and he just graduated last year and is attending college and playing basketball! We asked Antoniyo if he would be comfortable making a speech at our Annual Fundraisers at CraftRoots and our Golf Tournament, and at both events, he did such an amazing job! Everyone at both events were so impressed with Antoniyo, that we felt that he deserved this special recognition and, with his permission, would like to share his speech:
“Hello, I am Antoniyo and I have been attending the Milford Youth Center since the 6th grade and this has been one of the most important places in the world to me. For you guys to fully understand why it is so important to me I wanted to start with a little bit about myself. When I was about 8 years old, I moved to Milford from Florida. Coming from a single mom, I didn’t always have everything I wanted but we always made it work, even when it came to walking to sports practices, walking to the grocery stores, and making sure I always had a new outfit for the first day of school. My mother made it work 
no matter what problems she was facing. As a kid, I felt a little different because of the circumstances my family was in, but as I got into the Youth Center all of that went away. It gave my mom a free place for me to go and stay out of trouble in, food to eat when there was nothing at my house, Christmas presents to help my mom for me and my siblings, to me doing basketball teams and the youth center holding the practices. Anything you can think of the Milford Youth Center has helped me with. Fast forward a couple of years towards the end of my 8th grade year Covid happened and it shut everything down. I gained a ton of weight and became very unhappy during that time but luckily with everything being modified and masks and distance rules the Youth Center was still able to be open. During that time there was a varsity basketball player that worked at the youth center, and I respected him so much because of what he did outside the Youth Center. He would have a conversation with me about weight loss and calorie deficits and everything I would need to know to help me lose weight and further my basketball career
and that is what is so special about the Youth Center. The kids can connect with the workers and learn from them whether it’s through the Youth Center or meeting them outside of the youth center and that bond when a kid looks up to you is honestly the reason I still work there. Knowing me and any of my coworkers can change someone’s life the way people have for me. Fast forward to my junior year of high school I would transfer school out of Milford, and this is really where I noticed how impactful the Center is. These kids would look at the Youth Center in disbelief. I took for granted having free food every day, a free basketball court, video games, extra help with homework. To top all of that off the Center allows kids like me that cannot afford these things outside of the Youth Center to come in and do it. Before the Youth Center I never played pool or ping pong before; it is just not something I have ever had. The Youth Center continued to help me in my life by hiring me following my junior year. This has been so important to me because not only am I getting paid, but I am constantly learning and becoming a better person. The Youth Center has taught me the impact I can have on someone’s life at any day any time.”