Share your story…
If Anytown was special to you, let us know! We are collecting testimonials about the impact of our Anytown program, and are looking for alumni who can testify to the power of Anytown. Alumni willing to share their story of how Anytown changed their life, please contact Jessica Estévez .

Letter from Devon Grimme

Dear reader,

I am a freshman at the University of Florida and I have been involved with Anytown since July 2002, the summer after my eighth grade. I had never felt such a strong sense of belonging and purpose. I was happy before I attended Anytown, but I was missing something. Even as a fourteen year old, I was able to notice people my age affected in a way I had never seen or even imagined. People went from reclusive and shy and biased to embracing, open, and sharing in a matter of days. And these were people from every possible background – family, social, housing, economic, religious, everything.

I was incredibly lucky to be a part of something so beneficial. I gained knowledge of cultures and viewpoints that were not my own. I made friends of backgrounds that were not common in my own town and school. I gained leadership potential. I gained sympathy and empathy for others that I never had or even thought was important. And I was not the only one…

Anytown creates a new group of future competent leaders each week. Whether or not we end up in the spotlight, we will make a difference. As we become bankers, nurses, businesspeople, doctors, public servants, and politicians, we carry with us the sensitivity to the situations of others and the leadership ability that truly will make waves of change in our community.
 
I can honestly say that Anytown changed the mission and meaning of my life. I went from growing up to have the American dream house, family, vacations, and possessions to growing up to improve the American dream, and to make it available to everyone. I no longer wish to make lots of money. Instead I wish to own my own businesses, built on ideals and diversity and sensitivity, not on greed. Then I wish to become a politician so as to be able to give people what they need to succeed. These are goals I never had until I attended Anytown. In fact, I would not be a Family, Youth, and Community Sciences major without it.
 
I have become intertwined with the Anytown program. My life and goals are synonymous with the program, and I know personally of hundreds of others who can say the same. I continue to participate every summer (and off-season) and continue to see the benefits and effectiveness of Anytown. It is something I plan my summers around, and miss during the school year as I see the continued effects of bias and know how I am personally involved in changing them.

By continuing to invest in Anytown, you continue to change the world, to improve the lives of hundreds of people every year. I may even go as far as to say that it is an honor to know that when someone brags and gloats and raves about their wonderful experience at Anytown, you can smile knowing that you had a hand in changing their life.

With deepest sincerity,

Letter from Scott Toscano

Anxious, out of place, lacking, uncertain, awkward, uneventful, alone, don’t fit in, seeking approval, peer pressure, bored, seeking identity, wanting to belong, rebellious, incomplete, waste of time…

These are some of the feelings I had during my freshman year at Clearwater High. By the spring it was obvious to one of my teachers that I was searching for something more than what school had to offer. Mrs. Stewart recommended that I attend a summer program called Anytown.  And so I went to camp that summer in 1996 and here I am a decade later still talking about it.

I did not have an epiphany like some of the other kids did but more like a slow awakening. Gradually I realized that something exceptionally precious was imparted on me that week and I am still learning how to draw on it.