Young Role Model Speaks up for Inclusion

Tom Giffey |

Five years ago, during a difficult time in his life, Brady Wilder found a welcoming home away from home at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Chippewa Valley. Now the 14-year-old is poised to represent the local organization – which serve nearly 10,000 kids annually at centers in Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, Menomonie, and Black River Falls – at the State Youth of the Year competition in Madison.

“It’s an open place,” Brady says of the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Chippewa Falls Center. “No matter where you come from or who you are, you’ll always have a place here.”

Brady, an eighth grader at Chippewa Falls Middle School, was chosen as the local clubs’ Youth of the Year, an honor which goes annually to a club member who becomes a role model through “academic success, strong moral character, positive life goals, poise, and strong public speaking abilities.” He’s the first kid chosen for the honor from Chippewa Falls.

Brady says he’s excited about competing in Madison, where he will be one of 25 young people from around the state who will give speeches and be interviewed by a panel of judges March 8-10. He’s a little nervous, too, but he modestly adds he’s never been particularly fazed by speaking in front of a group.

Brady’s presentation will take aim at bullying and focus on inclusiveness: “Everyone deserves a chance, and I want to bring a light to that,” he says. For Brady, that chance came when he joined the Boys & Girls Club five years ago after his grandparents became ill. Through subsequent hardships, including his grandparents’ deaths, the club’s members and staff provided a tight social support network, Brady says. “This helped me get through it by always being here,” he says. “Knowing that people cared about me and wanted to see me, really made me think.”

Brady goes to the club nearly every day after school as well as during the summer. In addition to doing his homework and hanging out with friends, Brady loves exercising his creativity through art projects at the club, including sculpting and making short, silly movies on an iPad. (One example: “Bob Ross for President.”)

Marie Lau, program coordinator at the Chippewa Falls Center, said Brady will represent the club well in Madison. “I think it’s very special because we’re not a really big club, but our teens have a lot to offer,” Lau says of Brady’s selection.