Author: Sarah Durham

Seattle, Wash. – July 23, 2014 –Selected among nine outstanding youth, Tae McKenzie has been named the Pacific Region Youth of the Year for her sound character, leadership skills and willingness to give back to the community. Being named Youth of the Year is the highest honor a Boys & Girls Club member can receive. As the new teen representative for all Boys & Girls Clubs in the Pacific Region, she will receive a $10,000 scholarship from Tupperware Brands Corporation. Read more.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County’s new approach to this year’s summer programming focuses on preventing summer learning loss. The newly structured summer programs provide Club members choices of programs targeted to three grade-level groups focused on keeping youth current in subjects they often fall behind in during the summer months away from school. The Club is taking this new approach to help prevent a grade-level loss in reading and essential critical thinking skills among the youth it serves. Read more.

A mixture of excitement and blues filled the air at Spiritwood Manor last Wednesday, the last day of Project Learn. The group would be on hiatus from seeing each other for the next three months during summer. Although some of the kids would be back in a couple of weeks for Summer Camp, others had plans to stay home with mom, attend summer school, or go on vacation. The last day at Spiritwood was spent face painting, gardening, BBQ-ing and cleaning up house. As everyone milled around the club, a surprise visitor came walking through the door…wide receiver Doug Baldwin from the SEATTLE SEAHAWKS! Read more.

Francisco Ortiz, 16, went to a dance at the Boys & Girls Club four years ago. He hadn’t really wanted to get involved in extracurricular activities, but a dance sounded fun so he went. His mother, who had encouraged him to go, picked up a few flyers for programs offered in the organization. The Boys & Girls Club has become a cornerstone of his life. His future goal? To become an area branch director.

“You can come any day during the week and I’ll most likely be here,” he said. “It’s my second home.” Ortiz is one of many teenagers and children featured in a new commercial for the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound. The Thursday night sneak preview for stars, their families and members of the staff featured movie snacks like popcorn and soda.

The commercial lasts 30 seconds, so it was screened several times. It will run on Comcast and Click! cable networks. It was made by the Tacoma-based advertising and communications firm JayRay, and Hand Crank Films took on 80 percent of the cost, said Jinnie Hanson, the Boys & Girls Club’s director of communications and marketing. Read more. 

Recently, the Boys & Girls Club of Bellevue received Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s prestigious Marketing and Communications (MAC) Award during the organization’s annual national conference in San Francisco, Calif.

The Boys & Girls Club of Bellevue was selected among hundreds of local Clubs across the country for implementing the best marketing strategy for the BE GREAT: Bellevue Campaign.

In recognition of this outstanding achievement, Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Evan McElroy, left, was on hand to present President Kathy Haggart (right) and Board Member Gloria Wildeman, representing our pro-bono marketing partner from Lionfish Creative with the esteemed award.