IBERIA PARISH — By 4:30 every afternoon, the West End Boys and Girls Club in New Iberia fills with laughter and the smell of dinner. For many kids here, it’s more than just a place to spend the afternoon. It’s a safe haven, and for some, the best meal they’ll have all day.
“Once they come in and they have that meal, you can see it change their mood,” said D’André Hypolite, the club’s unit director. “I've seen kids come in and go from being upset to just being able to sit down, relax, have that meal, and then it kind of resets them for the rest of the day.”
The meals come through a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, which has worked with the Boys and Girls Club for about five years. Every weekday, hot meals are delivered to the club, along with cold meals on Fridays to help families through the weekend.
For parents facing rising food costs or uncertainty surrounding SNAP benefits, that consistency means everything.
“I felt like it was a security blanket,” Hypolite said. “Just to be able to have that resource — and for that resource to be consistent — it goes a long way.”
The West End Boys and Girls Club serves roughly 65 kids a day, offering homework help, mentorship, and enrichment programs for ages 6 through 18. But for Hypolite, known affectionately as “Mr. Dre,” it’s about much more than programming.
“I like to consider myself a Black unicorn,” he said. “I love being that constant in my members’ lives. I feel like you have to start with accountability somewhere. Me holding them accountable lets them know that I'm also in their corner — that I want to guide them to do better and be better.”
Hypolite grew up in New Iberia and said he’s proud to be pouring back into the same community that shaped him. His journey with the Boys and Girls Club began nearly a decade ago as a youth development professional at the Pershing Street location. He now leads the newer West End site, where he hopes to build more partnerships and create opportunities for kids to discover their passions.
“You have to throw a lot of different things at kids, just to see what sticks,” he said. “A lot of them have only seen one side of the world — sports or school — but there’s so much more out there. If you bring in someone who sews, or a lawyer, or a craftsman, it opens their eyes to what’s possible.”
That sense of possibility is what keeps kids like William Decuir, the 2024 Junior Youth of the Year, coming back day after day.
“When I first started coming here, I wasn't sure about it,” William said. “But once I started getting to know more people, I was like, 'yeah, I like coming here.' In the summer, I can’t wait to wake up in the morning and be here.'”
For Mr. Dre, moments like that are why the work matters.
“It takes a community to pour back into these youth so they can go out there and be the best version of themselves,” he said. “Whether it’s volunteering, donating, or just showing up — it all makes a difference.”
