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BE EXCEPTIONAL: OUTSTANDING RHODE ISLAND TEEN NAMED
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA’S NATIONAL YOUTH OF THE YEAR
First Hispanic Female Wins Top National Scholarship Award!

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 16, 2009) – Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) announced today at a Congressional Breakfast that Carolina Correa, a seven-year member of Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket, has been named the 2009-10 National Youth of the Year.

This honor comes with a total of $26,000 in college scholarships from the Reader’s Digest Foundation, the program’s founding sponsor. The Youth of the Year program recognizes outstanding contributions to a member’s family, school, community and Boys & Girls Club; academic excellence; and personal challenges and obstacles overcome.

Susan Fraysse Russ, executive director of the Reader’s Digest Foundation said, “The Reader’s Digest Foundation believes that individuals realize their full potential through learning. For over 60 years, we have had the great honor of saluting amazing teens for their dedication to their families, Clubs and communities. It is our hope that this award will give these youth a head start on a promising and rewarding future and help them achieve their academic and career goals.”

Correa is the first Hispanic female and 63rd youth to receive the title and will serve a one-year term as the national teen spokesperson for the 4.5 million youth served annually by Boys & Girls Clubs through Club membership and community outreach.

Correa recently graduated from Charles E. Shea High School, where she mentored freshmen and was a tutor. She was nominated to the City of Pawtucket’s Teen Hall of Fame, received the Rhode Island Presidential Student of the Year Award and was inducted into the National Honor Society of High School Scholars. She also graduated in the top 3 percent of her class.

At her Boys & Girls Club, Correa learned the English language, met new friends and found her niche in the aquatics program. She was named most valuable swimmer three times and created a program to teach the basics of swimming to inner city youth. Correa has dedicated many hours to community service projects, including tutoring immigrants who were preparing to take the U.S. citizenship exam. An aspiring child psychologist, she now attends Assumption College in Massachusetts.

“I am very proud of the accomplishments of Carolina and all the YOY finalists,” said Roxanne Spillett, CEO and president, BGCA. “They are all living proof that the Boys & Girls Club experience can help young people Be Great.”

Correa’s fellow 2009 Youth of the Year finalists are: Aneka Billings, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast (Miss.); LaQuita Grinnage, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee (Wis.); Christney Kpodo, Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound (Wash.); and Tony Spears, Boys & Girls Club of Bellville (Texas).

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org) has helped kids "Be Great," providing hope and opportunity for those who need it most. Today, more than 4,300 Clubs serve some 4.5 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Known as The Positive Place for Kids, Boys & Girls Clubs can be found throughout the country and on U.S. military bases worldwide, providing young people 6-18 years old with guidance-oriented character development programs conducted by trained, professional staff. Clubs positively impact lives and help young people reach their full potential as productive, caring citizens. Key programs emphasize leadership development; education and career exploration; community service; technology training; financial literacy; health and life skills; the arts; sports, fitness and recreation; and family outreach. In a recent Harris Survey of Club alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta.

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