Author: Sarah Durham

A local website is delivering Christmas trees to homes and raising money for a good cause at the same time.

Snow Day Farms has pledged 10 percent of the money to the Boys and Girls Club of King County to provide scholarships for kids.

It’s a business, but Neil Berquist says the crew gets something else out of it.

“If you’re ever having a bad day, I highly recommend you deliver Christmas trees. You see parents more excited than their kids and their kids think you’re Santa Claus. It’s an extremely heartwarming experience.”

The Snow Day Farmscrew can deliver a tree as large at ten feet tall to your doorstep. They’ll even put it in the stand and help you get it straight. Read more. 

PROSSER — Sebastian Castilleja does not talk like a teenager.

He does not begin sentences with “Um.” He does not refer to conflict as “a thing.” And he does not say how things are “like.”

He says how they are — in terms so stark and raw they cut through the emotional red tape of every audience.

The words the Prosser High School sophomore uses to describe life under his parents’ addictions has caused grown men at meetings to weep.

He discusses “trust issues,” shares how “domestic violence was a huge factor in my childhood” and clinically describes his emotions, borrowing words such as “abandoned,” “lost” and “embarrassed” from a family therapy template.

“It was hard growing up,” Sebastian says, so matter-of-factly you believe the 15-year-old indeed already has.

Last month, his words convinced judges to honor him with the 2013 Youth of the Year Award at the Prosser Boys & Girls Club. Read more.

As a sixth grader in search of guidance, stability and friendship, Mara Harris went to the Rochester Boys & Girls Club.

That initial visit, combined with Harris’ experiences that followed at the club as a student at Rochester Middle School, have been the catalyst for her volunteer and philanthropic efforts within the Thurston County area.

For her efforts, Harris, a 17-year-old junior at Black Hills High School, was named Young Philanthropist of the Year Award by the South Sound Partners for Philanthropy in November.

Harris was nominated for the award by Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County. Her mother, Heather Hughes and other philanthropic individuals from the community, helped celebrate an exciting and humbling experience for Harris. Read more.

I’ve been blessed with a second family. It’s a very big second family, made up of mentors, teachers, personal cheerleaders and life coaches who have helped shape the person I am today. I found them by accident at the Renton/Skyway Boys & Girls Club in Seattle. At eight years old, I became a member, expecting to get some homework help and to hang out with other kids, but instead I found this group of people who wanted to support and guide me throughout the years. Even now, as a freshman in college, I still think of the Club as family. I’ve never questioned whether to stay or leave – it’s just exactly where I belong. Read more. 

In 2004, Charles Schwab Foundation forged an alliance with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to educate teens about the basics of personal finance, financial planning, and the importance of smart money management. We chose BGCA for their large reach and the successful impact they have on young people (they serve an astonishing 4 million kids annually), and because they are as passionate as we are about making social change. We couldn’t have picked a more thoughtful and innovative partner. Together, we established Money Matters: Make It Count (SM), a financial education program designed specifically for Boys & Girls Club members ages 13 to 18. A decade later, Money Matters has helped more than half a million teens attain the skills necessary for a financially secure future.

I recently sat down with BGCA President and CEO Jim Clark (pictured) to talk about the organization’s contributions to American youth, and his advice to kids and their parents. Read more. 

The Washington Keystone Teen Summit was an absolutely incredible experience. I enjoyed every minute of it as teens from other Clubs across the state of Washington got together to learn more about the Keystoner experience!

We got a chance to understand issues that are important to teens at several workshops. I learned about the risks of texting and driving, teen pregnancy, bullying and drug/alcohol abuse. On the other hand, I learned about the benefits of community service, leadership skills and building positive and healthy relationships.

I learned so much from these discussions. It opened my thoughts on new opportunities to engage myself in the community, to go to college and beyond!