WASHINGTON — With President Barack Obama’s televised State of the Union address only two weeks away, the Boys and Girls Club of America’s Youth of the Year went online Tuesday for a national address to discuss the future of the nation’s youth.
“We are giving a voice to an often forgotten segment of our population—our young people,” Jim Clark, CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of America, said at the beginning of the webcast. “America’s young people today face unprecedented challenges with poverty, obesity and the need for twenty-first century workplace skills topping a too-long list.”
Trei Dudley, recipient of the 2012-2013 National Youth of the Year award, served as a junior staffer for the Boys and Girls Club of America and has been a member of Lawrence, Kan., chapter for 10 years. She attends the University of Arkansas and believes her success in achieving her dream of attending college is because of the BGCA and the National Youth of the Year sponsor, Tupperware Brands.
“I was thrilled when I learned that my Boys & Girls Club could give me guidance and resources to help me go to college,” Dudley said. “My Boys & Girls Club provided me with academic and personal growth opportunities.”
The Youth of the Year award recognizes a member who has promoted the community, academic success, character and life goals. The recipient also serves as the national spokeswoman for the 4 million young people the club serves. Dudley received a $50,000 scholarship presented in September.
Throughout the webcast, both Clark and Dudley repeatedly referred to a recent national survey conducted by BGCA that concluded that eight out of 10 teens believing the issues they most cared about have not been addressed. The poll revealed the top three issues troubling teens are access to jobs, training and college education after high school, youth violence and risky behavior.
“The resounding takeaway from our survey findings is not only do young people want solutions, they want a platform,” Dudley said. “They want a forum for ensuring that their needs, concerns and priorities are heard by the leaders who are in a position of influence to do something.”
The live webcast aired to a room of about 20 people, including members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the four 2012 Youth of the Year finalists.
“I think [the State of the Youth] is something that was needed because they talked about so many things as far as giving youth a voice,” Denzell Perry, the Pacific Region Youth of the Year finalist, said. “That’s one thing that is very important to our nation…so many people sit on school boards or so many people are elected officials to serve and make a difference in young peoples live, but the best way to make a difference is to hear that the youth has to say.”
The Boys & Girls Club has a petition on its website to form a Teen Advisory Committee as part of the National Commission on Children that would meet to find solutions to problems facing teens.
“We are saying that we want — we need — to feel confident that our leaders will deliver meaningful solutions to the challenges we face every day,” Dudley said.
