In honor of National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we are recognizing our volunteers of the year for their service throughout 2025.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston (BGCB) is incredibly excited to announce that Kendall Henderson of BlackRock has been named 2025 Corporate Volunteer of the Year. Kendall’s involvement with BGCB began on her first day of work in the BlackRock Boston office and has grown into an incredible partnership that embodies the spirit of BGCB and the impact it hopes to create alongside corporate partners throughout the community.
As a valued member of BlackRock, Kendall has made significant contributions to Ready to Work, BGCB’s workforce readiness program. BlackRock consistently provides mentorship and professional development opportunities for participants throughout the program year. Kendall has taken a leadership role in coordinating initiatives such as Powerful Presence (a public speaking and networking session), beautifications, local Club events, and BlackRockin’ Out (an annual summer event where BGCB seniors network with BlackRock mentors and enjoy a Codzilla boat ride through the harbor). Through her unwavering dedication, Kendall has exemplified corporate social responsibility, investing her time and expertise in initiatives that have made a lasting, positive impact on BGCB.
Learn more about Kendall, BlackRock, and their powerful partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston in the interview below.
How did you first get involved as a volunteer at Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston (BGCB)?
It was actually my very first day in the Boston Office! I originally started at BlackRock in our Princeton office, where I was involved with the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County in New Jersey. So, I knew I eventually wanted to get involved with the Boston chapter. I just didn’t know it would be my first day!
Luckily, I was on the desk when my coworker, David Frisch, was recruiting volunteers for the event. I thought it was a great way to get to know my new coworkers and start to build that initial connection to the new city that I moved to. So, it was my very first day in the Boston office and we went to the Yawkey Club of Roxbury that afternoon, and it was awesome!
What do you hope to achieve through your time and effort as a volunteer at the Club?
As I’m not native to Boston, I wanted to do something outside of my day-to-day job, that made me feel closer to the community and I’ve always really enjoyed spending time with kids. Thus, the Boys & Girls Club felt like a really natural next step in terms of getting closer to our community and getting to spend time with younger adults and kids.
What’s your favorite way to volunteer with BGCB?
My favorite way to volunteer with BGCB is something that I hold really close to my heart. My coworker, David Frisch, and I worked really hard to refine and improve the Powerful Presence workshop, which we were able to introduce to the clubs two years ago. Our goal with Powerful Presence is to help Club members practice their networking and public speaking skills.
During the workshop, Club members are paired up with a BlackRock employee to answer a few questions and get to know each other. Then, the Club members will introduce their mentor to the group and let their Powerful Presence be heard!
We’ve designed the curriculum to focus on public speaking skills, whether it’s slowing down speaking pace or making eye contact. I think that it has really helped Club members feel more confident when speaking in front of large groups. Powerful Presence has been equally beneficial for the BlackRock employees too; we always leave feeling really, really energized.
What has kept you coming back as a volunteer?
Over the last four years, I have truly grown to love volunteering at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston and have recognized what a special organization BGCB is. BGCB provides the youth of Boston with really important support and resources. As I meet more and more Club members across Boston, I realized that some members have been going to the Club since they were young kids and they’ve truly grown up in the Clubs with other members. They develop close relationships with staff. [BGCB] fosters this incredible environment of growth, safety, and collaboration.
As I went more and more, I started to feel connected to that community as well and it just keeps you coming back. Something the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston does well is provide the members with that consistency and routine and safe space, which is really helpful when you are growing up and starting to become a young, mature adult. I think it’s just incredible that BlackRock employees have an opportunity to be involved in that and can be connected to our broader community. Especially the youth of Boston too, because that’s the future. It’s exciting!
What would you recommend about Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston to other organizations out there who are looking for organizations to support and get involved with?
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston is doing such important work. The Clubs are supporting and fostering the future leaders of our city! The individuals who will be running companies and taking on important leadership roles in Boston are members of the Clubs! If you want to influence the future and you care about your city, then getting involved with your city’s youth is the best to way to make an impact.
There are a lot of different ways to get involved with the BCGB. You can help with résumé or interview prep, club beautification, or initiatives like our Powerful Presence Workshops. But I think regardless of what you do at the Clubs, you will leave feeling really excited about the future because it is in the hands of BGCB members!
What has been your top highlight from the past year as a volunteer?
My favorite highlight was seeing two Club members that I’ve connected with on stage at this year’s Annual Dinner in January! Tea co-hosted the dinner and she absolutely crushed it! Her energy throughout the event was incredible. I connected with her at the
Josh Kraft Mattapan Teen Center, where we completed the Powerful Presence Workshop together.
I was also so happy to see Jailah from the Gerland and Darlene Jordan Club of Chelsea on stage! She was spotlighted during a conversation with her mom about her interest in the medical field. She did a program with Northeastern last summer and she’s gearing up for a career in healthcare after high school.
That was a really rewarding experience. I thought, “Wow! I know two Club members who are being spotlighted!’ They received the recognition they deserve, and it was just such a good example of how the Clubs can impact young people.
