Club Teens Take Over Texas!

A small sampling of the over 2,200 teens and advisors who came out for Keystone 2016 in Dallas.

Last week, I had the pleasure and privilege to join over 2,200 teens and their advisors from Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the United States for the 49th Annual National Keystone Conference in Dallas.

Keystone Clubs are the ultimate teen program. The leadership development experience gets kids ages 14 to 18 involved in academic success, career prep and community service activities. Guided by an adult advisor, Keystone Clubs positively impact Club teens and their community.

The three-day Keystone Conference allowed Club teens to participate in lots and lots of fun, diverse and educational activities and projects. Here are just a few of them:

• Day of Service – Hundreds of Club teens spent seven hours working on community service projects throughout Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington.
• Graduate for Más – Taco Bell Foundation challenged teens to make a personal pledge to graduate from high school. Graduate for Más aims to provide high school students with tools and support to stay on track and diploma bound.
• SMART Girls Expo – Nine out of 10 girls want to change at least one thing about their physical appearance. With that concerning fact in mind, SMART Girls Expo engaged our young women in discussions and demonstrations around self-esteem, confidence, body image and the influence of media.
• Real World College and Career Experiences – Nearly 350 teens participated in job-shadowing experiences with companies that included AT&T, the Texas Rangers, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Microsoft. Plus, 320 more teens paid visits to the campuses of University of Texas at Dallas, The Culinary School of Ft. Worth and Texas Christian University.
• Career, College and Workforce Development Expo – More than 80 representatives provided teens with information and resources about college, military and workforce opportunities.
• CPR Training – Over 100 teens were certified as CPR trainers by the American Heart Association

My deepest thanks go out to the many, many groups and individuals who made the conference a rousing success! That includes our co-host organizations, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Forth Worth, as well as the National Keystone Conference Steering Committee, and all the Keystone Club advisors and conference volunteers. See you next year in Chicago for our 50th National Keystone Conference!

A small sampling of the over 2,200 teens and advisors who came out for Keystone 2016 in Dallas.

Last week, I had the pleasure and privilege to join over 2,200 teens and their advisors from Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the United States for the 49th Annual National Keystone Conference in Dallas.

Keystone Clubs are the ultimate teen program. The leadership development experience gets kids ages 14 to 18 involved in academic success, career prep and community service activities. Guided by an adult advisor, Keystone Clubs positively impact Club teens and their community.

The three-day Keystone Conference allowed Club teens to participate in lots and lots of fun, diverse and educational activities and projects. Here are just a few of them:

• Day of Service – Hundreds of Club teens spent seven hours working on community service projects throughout Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington.
• Graduate for Más – Taco Bell Foundation challenged teens to make a personal pledge to graduate from high school. Graduate for Más aims to provide high school students with tools and support to stay on track and diploma bound.
• SMART Girls Expo – Nine out of 10 girls want to change at least one thing about their physical appearance. With that concerning fact in mind, SMART Girls Expo engaged our young women in discussions and demonstrations around self-esteem, confidence, body image and the influence of media.
• Real World College and Career Experiences – Nearly 350 teens participated in job-shadowing experiences with companies that included AT&T, the Texas Rangers, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Microsoft. Plus, 320 more teens paid visits to the campuses of University of Texas at Dallas, The Culinary School of Ft. Worth and Texas Christian University.
• Career, College and Workforce Development Expo – More than 80 representatives provided teens with information and resources about college, military and workforce opportunities.
• CPR Training – Over 100 teens were certified as CPR trainers by the American Heart Association

My deepest thanks go out to the many, many groups and individuals who made the conference a rousing success! That includes our co-host organizations, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Forth Worth, as well as the National Keystone Conference Steering Committee, and all the Keystone Club advisors and conference volunteers. See you next year in Chicago for our 50th National Keystone Conference!