For 18-year-old Surafel Berhanie, the Boys and Girls Club of the Sioux Empire has been a second home for over a decade.
When his family moved to South Dakota from Ethiopia at the age of 8, he did not know English and was struggling to find a place where he could be himself.
That changed, and now he is a part-time employee and the Sioux Empire’s 2021 Youth of the Year recipient.
“It was a foundation and a place for me to feel safe,” he said of the Boys and Girls Club. “Most kids don’t feel comfortable opening up, and me knowing how they feel makes it easier for them open up.”