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Please visit the sites below to find out more about the Boys & Girls Club.
Boys and Girls Club of America -- http://www.bgca.org/
Boys and Girls Club of Coastal Carolina -- http://www.bgccc.net/
Kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Coastal Carolina also had fun at the tournament! The kids opened the tournament by leading the participants in the Pledge of Allegiance and club member Stephanie Reynolds gave a Whitney Houston rendition of the Star Spangle Banner! Great job Stephanie.
Erica Venning 2008 Youth Of The Year
Erica Venning is a true example of an extraordinary youth. At age 15, she has just been selected as the Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Coastal Carolina.
The Youth of the Year program, which is administered by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and has been nationally sponsored by the Reader’s Digest Foundation since 1947, recognizes outstanding contributions to a member’s family, school, community and Boys & Girls Club, as well as personal challenges and obstacles overcome.
“The Reader’s Digest Foundation has been the proud sponsor of the Youth of the Year program for 59 years,” said Susan Fraysse Russ, executive director, Reader’s Digest Foundation. “We are thrilled that we can honor amazing teens, like Erica, for their dedication and hard work.”
What a difference 2 ˝ years makes, Erica has applied to the nationally recognized NC School of Science & Math in Durham, NC, the NC Governors School for this summer at Meredith College in Raleigh and is getting ready to turn 16 and drive! Erica is very involved at West Carteret, she is a member of the Singers & Small Ensemble, HUNS: Hear Us Now Environmental pro active group, quiz Bowl and she is the solo vocalist of the Jazz Band. “I just love singing Ella Fitzgerald”, stated Erica.
“It is such a pleasure to see a genuinely polite and talented young lady like Erica gain the recognition she deserves by being selected as our 2008 Youth of the Year,” said Leisa Smith, Executive Director, Boys & Girls Clubs of Coastal Carolina.
Erica will now go on to compete in Raleigh NC on April 3rd & 4th against other Boys & Girls Club members for the Youth of the Year title for the state of North Carolina and a $1,000 scholarship. If Erica wins at the state level, then she will go on to compete for the title of Southeast Region Youth of the Year and a $10,000 scholarship.
Erica has already won $2,000 from James P. Bailey, Jr. Family Boys & Girls Club Scholarship Fund which was established in 2006 to help promote “support” of the club members after they leave the clubs.
As the founding sponsor of the Youth of the Year program, the Reader’s Digest Foundation has given nearly $8 million to BGCA and 58 teens have been selected as National Youth of the Year.
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