State Youth of the Year

WHAT IS IT:
Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Youth of the Year program, sponsored by the Reader’s Digest Foundation at the national level, recognizes teens for outstanding contributions to a member’s family, school, community and Boys & Girls Club, as well as personal challenges and obstacles overcome.

HOW IT WORKS:
Participants are chosen on local and state levels, with five regional winners meeting each September in Washington, D.C., to compete for the National Youth of the Year title. Five judges individually interview each candidate and select the winner on the basis of scholastic achievement; community service; leadership ability; and consideration of any physical, social or emotional obstacles overcome.

Since the program’s inception in 1947, the five regional finalists have been honored at a Congressional Breakfast and met with the President of the United States, who officially installs the national winner. The Reader’s Digest Foundation awards each state finalist a $1,000 college scholarship, each regional finalist a $10,000 college scholarship, and the National Youth of the Year an additional $15,000 college scholarship.

THE RESULTS:
The National Youth of the Year serves a one-year term as representative and spokesperson for some 4.8 million youth served through Club membership and community outreach, in all 50 states and on U.S. military bases worldwide. During that time, the National Youth of the Year travels across the country to address various groups on important youth issues and the role Boys & Girls Clubs play in changing young lives. As national youth spokesperson, the Youth of the Year testifies before special sessions of Congress; speaks to influential business, civic and government leaders; and appears on local and national television and radio programs and in newspapers and magazines.