After-school group aims to help Butler students ‘Breakthrough’
Looking to his childhood, Nick Yannotty said he would have liked an avenue for self-expression where he could go aside from school-sanctioned activities.
“I needed a place to go and have friends in a place that was pressure-free,” Yannotty said. “Just a fun, positive atmosphere where you could build skills and become a better person.”
In January 2021, Yannotty started Breakthrough Butler, which he hoped would become a nonprofit organization like the one he wanted as a child. So far, he has hosted open gym events for sports, usually volleyball, father-and-daughter dances and middle-school dances all serving children ages 7 to 15 years old.
Yannotty said he had the idea for the youth organization for some time, having previously worked in youth programming at the Butler YMCA. Since Breakthrough Butler began, Yannotty has hosted open gyms at the Butler Y, where he gets anywhere from a handful of children to groups of up to around 75.
The name “Breakthrough” is meant to invoke the idea of middle and high school students literally having a breakthrough in their personalities and growth, Yannotty said. Over the winter, Yannotty has hosted a volleyball league, which he said is casual and is meant to give children a place to meet each other and let off steam.
“It’s kind of like a sports team but without the competitive nature,” Yannotty said. “It’s a lot of positive energy. I’m hoping that spills over into their other activities.”
Leah Montgomery, a student at Butler Intermediate High School, has been fulfilling an assistant role with Breakthrough Butler since the start of the volleyball league. As a volleyball player at the school, Leah said she was happy to be able to get into a leadership role outside of school alongside some of her friends.
“There was an announcement made at school about it,” she said. “We were players first, then we helped out.”
Isabella Curzi is another student at Butler Intermediate who is assisting Breakthrough Butler. She said she understands the nonprofit’s mission of promoting personal growth, because she thinks that she has changed since she started coaching other students.
“I think we get to learn how to deal with people and knowing how they play,” Isabella said.
The YMCA gym on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 21, was filled with about 45 children ages 11 to 15 who played pickup volleyball games for a few hours, along with many parents and guardians who stayed to watch the action.
Yannotty said parents involvement with their children at events is another good sign to him.
“What I’ve heard is parents are just happy their kids have something to do,” Yannotty said. “Them being here, it’s like the kids have another reason to just have fun.”
While the events do not always go as planned — Yannotty said events early on in Breakthrough Butler’s creation were sparsely attended and a dance in early February was cut short by misbehavior — the organization is a work in progress.
Yannotty said he hopes to one day find a permanent space for Breakthrough Butler where he can host events and not always have to rent venues.
In the meantime, Yannotty posts upcoming events on Breakthrough Butler’s website and Facebook page with details, and he plans to continue with regular programming as long as there is continued interest.
“Being a better person is really the goal of all this,” Yannotty said. “The main goal is to have a safe space for people to come as they are and grow and have something that will be bigger than themselves.”
