TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Many students in Toledo finally walked across the stage for graduation Tuesday.
Some of those students can give thanks to dedicated mentors at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Toledo.
Alumni of Boys and Girls Club include an all-star basketball player from Rogers High School: Taquarius "T.Q." Belcher.
Belcher has an athletic scholarship to Ohio Christian University to study business. His sister, Precious Johnson also graduating. She is going to college at Bowling Green State University.
Superintendent of Toledo Public Schools, Romules Durant delivering remarks at their ceremony.
One thing all three of them have in common is the Boys and Girls Clubs of Toledo.
"One of the most rewarding careers you could ever ask for," said Dave Wehrmeister, the executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Toledo when asked about working at the clubs.
For the youth they serve, including even himself at one time, their work here can be life-changing.
"They don't remember sometimes the program, sometimes 60 or 70 years later," says Wehrmeister. "But they remember the names of the people that impacted their life that they came in contact with at the club."
Among them, actor Jamie Farr and Mieasha Hicks, now a podiatrist surgeon, who came here struggling with severe depression.
"She is Now a physician. And the club saved her life," Wehrmeister said.
Wehrmeister believes it was the Girls Club of Toledo inviting her in and Hicks going through their career program that saved her.
Hicks continues to come back to the club to mentor other kids.
Wehrmeister says they offer an alternative to the negative influences and violence among some youth in the city, even bullying.
"We just don't allow that kind of behavior," Wehrmeister said. "We have kids engaged in activities, and staff members who are leading and teaching and learning with the kids."
The summer program starts next week, and they need volunteers who can commit consistent time with the kids. They also offer transportation to their East Toledo club.
To find out more about the Boys and Girls Club and how you or your kids can get involved go to, you can visit their website.
