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One hundred years of service: Boys & Girls Club celebrates

By Serghino Réne
The Bay State Banner
May 11,2006

In 1906, 53 independent Boys’ Clubs came together in Boston to form a national organization called the Federated Boys’ Clubs, now known as the Boys & Girls Club of America. The organization’s mission was to provide leadership programs for its member clubs and establish new clubs in disadvantaged communities. Since 1990, its mission has expanded to include all young people who need support and guidance. Now, one hundred years later, in honor of the multi-club merger, the organization chose to celebrate its centennial where it all began — Boston.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell kicked off the event, reminding attendees how it has become increasingly important to invest time, knowledge and proper guidance in children while they are young.

“A strong foundation starts in the home,” said Powell.

Powell suggested that providing the essential “nutrients” as a parent, mentor or role model paves the road for building strong character, the personal confidence needed to persevere and being better equipped to sustain, encounter and overcome challenges that lie ahead in life.

“Every child comes from a mother, each equal to every other child,” said Powell. “The Only way they’ll receive life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is if they were raised properly and have influential role models in their lives.”

The BGCA planned several other events at the Hynes Convention Center over the course of three days, working off the theme that adults and mentors have an influential impact that stretch far beyond one’s childhood years. Some other highlights of the conference included speakers General Wesley Clark, CNN’s Soledad O’Brien and marketing expert Stedman Graham.

Hollywood stars took the red carpet at the Red Carpet Reunion, which preceded the Alumni Hall of Fame ceremony. Their presence and success alone was a testament to the Club’s mission and exemplified the lasting effect of a positive role model.

Inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame were former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, author and former CEO Larry Bossidy, NFL stars Tony Gonzalez and Willie McGinest, Blockbuster chairman and CEO John Antioco, MLB player Dontrelle Willis and members of Kool & the Gang. Other celebrities who attended the event were Denzel Washington, Michael Jordan, Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Lopez.

Dr. Peter Benson, president and CEO of Search Institute, gave an eye-opening lecture on raising children in today’s society. The presentation, entitled “A Look Into the Future,” was an enlightening session which took a deeper look into the lives of young people and reiterated the importance of role models and organizations like the BGCA. Some of the things he brought to light were the influence of the media, how 12 to 19-year-olds are easily influenced in their formative years by their socioecomic situation, education and parents.

“It isn’t clear if it is tougher to grow up now than it was 20 years ago, but time is moving,” said Benson. “We need to help kids stay on a positive path and build a foundation for them to work upon.”

Preceding the centennial celebration, two local non-profit organizations, Project: Think Different — which uses the arts and popular culture to stimulate change — and the Boys & Girls Club of Boston collaborated last week to form a one-day youth conference for approximately 300 Boston area teens.

Local area students gathered in the Frank E. Morris Auditorium at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston where they were hosted by moderator Mish Micheals, weatherwoman for WBZ-TV 4, and entertained by live music performances, presentations and videos. The one-day conference, called the Ideas Boston Youth Summit: Inspiring the Next Generation of Boston Innovators and Entrepreneurs, showcased Boston as a center for innovative thinking. The goal was to help young people connect with themselves and be a part of thinking big.

Micheals recalls not having a voice when she was kid and wasn’t encouraged to see life broadly. Through moderating the conference, she felt she had something to share with the kids.

“Kids today take in a lot of messages and to be cool they often follow the wrong crowd. The media just makes the mess worse,” says Micheals. “It’s more important for youth to be critical thinkers and fulfill things the smart way.”

Project: Think Different was born out of the idea of wanting change and executive director Scherazade Daruvalla King strives to do just that with her voice, encouraging others to take control of their destiny. She was one of several presenters at the event.

“We want young people to think big, remove the barriers that get in their way such as messages from the media and those from our cultural paradon,” said King. “If I didn’t practice activism when I was younger, it would be hard for me to do anything of that stature now. It started when I was young.”

Other presenters included evidence response agent Sarah Burkwit, youth moderator Jewel Cash, composer and performer Deborah Henson-Conant, Northeastern University senior and entrepreneur Nick Kurlas, roboticist James McLurkin, BigBelly inventor James Ross, pediatrician and former filmmaker Michael Rich, spoken word artist Sofia Snow, entertainer Kevin So, stem cell researcher Amy Wagers and medical inventor Conor James Walsh.

Although both events were subtly different, they operated under one theme, hoping to achieve the same goal — to change the world, one kid at a time.