Alumni Spotlight: Jaden Maple — Growing Through Care, Serving With Purpose

For Jaden Maple, the doors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati opened a world of possibility. What started in middle school as a safe place to hang out and get help with her homework became a foundation for purpose, community and real growth.

A Club Kid Finds a Home

Jaden grew up in Cincinnati and attended school in the West Clermont district. She first discovered BGCGC while she was in middle school at Glen Este. The Club was brand new at her school at the time. It wasn’t yet a standalone building, just a room inside the school where kids could play games, grab a snack, get help with their schoolwork or hit the gym.

A friend invited her to check it out and instantly the Club felt like home. She found familiar faces and a sense of belonging. “I felt comfortable, kind of at home,” Jaden remembers. That simple feeling of acceptance pulled her in. She kept coming throughout her sixth-grade year.

When Jaden reached seventh grade, changes in Club staffing introduced her to Julia, the new director, who soon became a trusted mentor and friend. For Jaden, raised by her grandparents after her parents struggled with addiction, Julia offered an additional source of stability, support and a genuine belief in her.

From Volunteer to Leader

When Jaden entered high school, there was no Club programming for teens at her school. But she didn’t stop showing up. Julia and then-director Britton Martin gave her the chance to volunteer. That gave Jaden a front-row seat to Club life beyond membership.

As a junior staffer, Jaden helped sign kids out for the day, walk them to parent pickups, assist with homework support and help run events. She also participated in quarterly reading and math assessments. Jaden saw how the Club worked behind the scenes and got a taste of responsibility.

After a brief break she returned, one month before turning eighteen, for her first part-time role as program lead assistant helping Julia with the K–1 classes. Jaden began to take on real leadership. Under the guidance of her coordinator, Eric Barber, she learned how to plan lessons, manage a room and build relationships with children. That experience gave her a glimpse at the positive impacts she could have on children if she continued on with the organization.

Finding Her Place

Jaden’s journey continued when she was promoted to program lead at the Wyler Club, leading the 2nd–3rd grade room. Over two years, she built trust with the same kids, watching them grow and finding a deep satisfaction in guiding them.

Eventually Jaden’s sister, who had joined Wyler Club as the front desk attendant, was promoted to program coordinator. Unfortunately, Club policy required that Jaden step aside from a supervisory since she would not be allowed to manage a member of her family. But that didn’t stop Jaden from taking a different role within the Club to remain committed to the work and the mission.

After several months, Jaden learned that a program coordinator position was opening at the newly renovated Fischer Club in Kenton County. She was drawn back by the call to serve kids again directly. In May 2025, she took on the role at the site still under construction. What began in a temporary basement set-up quickly blossomed into a full Club location that now welcomes about 140 kids every day.

Lessons of Empathy Patience and Purpose

For Jaden, the Club’s impact runs deeper than the programs. It changed how she sees people, how she listens and how she leads. The trauma-competent care training she received helped shift her mindset, teaching her how to slow down, listen and ask questions instead of reacting. She learned patience and teamwork, and how to understand what a young person might be going through before judging their behavior.

Eric’s mentorship also helped her navigate cultural differences and understand the power of representation. Jaden had never had a close Black mentor before. Through him, she learned how to ask hard questions, discuss race openly and build trust.

These lessons shaped not just Jaden’s work at the Club, but her identity and how she shows up in the world.

A Vision for the Future

Today, Jaden is more than a Club staffer. She’s a proud mom of a newborn son. She is planning to study nonprofit work at Northern Kentucky University with hopes of continuing her journey with BGCGC in a role that will allow her to support more youth in deeper ways.

“The Club has seen me grow up,” Jaden says. “It is my personality. It is all I talk about.” She hopes to stay on, whether as a coordinator, an administrator or in another capacity where she can continue to support kids.

Jaden Maple is living proof that the Boys & Girls Clubs is so much more than just a safe place for kids to go. Her years with the Clubs have helped her grow and showed her what it means to care for others. That kind of impact lasts a lifetime.