Ayni + Diamond

Diamond's Determination Shines

One day, Diamond came to me with a goal: “Ayni, I want to learn gymnastics.” This was no surprise, as she’s one of those kids who drops into the splits on command to make people cringe and does cartwheels whenever there’s grass around. Together, we broke that big goal down into smaller goals and identified the barriers to problem solve. 

First, we wrote a letter to a gym which earned her a scholarship so the family wouldn’t pay out of pocket. We found a gym near her home and arranged weekly transportation through one of our staff members. Diamond used her monthly budget from Friends PDX to pick out a leotard she felt confident in. This youth worked so hard to take the seed of an idea and turn it into something real.

But here’s where it gets special—through a connection, we were able to set up a Zoom meet-and-greet with none other than Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history! Diamond’s story has many parallels with Simone’s story. Experience with foster care and adoption, being a person of color in a predominately white sport AND being wicked smart and super funny. It was a pivotal moment for her to imagine the many, many options available in the future. She continues to attend weekly classes, building both skills and friendships, AND she leveled up again last month.

This isn’t only a story about a youth learning gymnastics. It’s about how Friends of the Children lets youth lead, creates opportunities for them to deeply explore their interests, supports them in developing skills, navigates barriers to success, and ultimately empowers them to write their own stories. Like one who recently graduated from dental school, another who’s currently stationed in Japan serving in the Marines, or another who earned Middle School Teacher of the Year this spring.

If you’ve had a mentor at some point in your life, you know how transformational it can be. If you didn’t have one, you deserved one. Thank you all for supporting the work we do to provide caring, consistent adults for all youth who could use a Friend. Most importantly, thank you for believing in our youth and their families.

- Ayni H, Associate Director of Outreach & Enrollment