ready willing - Darden Restaurants

BGCA ishelping morethan4kids in Clubsacross theU.S. reachtheir potentialmillionBoys & Girls Clubs of America’s (BGCA)mission is to enable all young people,especially those with the greatest need,to reach their full potential as productive,caring, responsible citizens. Clubs do thisdaily by providing young people withone-on-one relationships with caring adultprofessionals, life-enhancing programs andcharacter development experiences.BGCA and the Darden Restaurants, Inc.Foundation partnered together to enhanceand strengthen BGCA’s premier program,Youth of the Year (YOY). Recognizing Clubmembers ages 14 to18, YOY encouragesacademic excellence, increases participationin Club and community service projects,and focuses youth on pursuing highereducation. From annual competitionsat the local Club level through state,regional and national competitions,YOY celebrates youth for their contributionsto family, school, community and Club.By acknowledging those who take fulladvantage of its programs and services,BGCA is providing a path that encouragesyoung people to excel.BGCA partnered with the DardenRestaurants, Inc. Foundation in an effort toincrease college enrollment by offering aRecipe for Success workshop at thestate-level YOY competition. This highlyinteractive, personalized workshop assistedstate YOY competitors in exploringpotential career paths and areas of study;gave them tools and resources for academicplanning; and helped them to developfinancial management skills and researchtips for scholarship funding sources. Atake-home “Darden tool-kit” enabledparticipants to explore these subject areasin even more detail. As an additionalincentive, students who took the necessarysteps to pursue a post-secondary educationwere then eligible for financial scholarships,which were given to juniors and seniors whohad been accepted into a post-secondarycollege, university, technical, culinary orother accredited education institution.Scholarships were also available to freshmenand sophomores to help defray the costs ofpreparing for post-secondary education(e.g., SAT exam fees, college visits, etc.)Darden’s investment in a partnership withBGCA will impact not only those state YOYfinalists who participated in the workshopcurriculum, but also their peers in all Clubswithin that state. Through the inspiringworkshops, take-home tool-kit, and theincentive of post-secondary educationalscholarships, the word has spread quicklythrough the Clubs. Many Youth of theYear winners who attend college are thefirst in their families to do so. With theopportunities and resources Darden’sfunding has provided, younger childrenlearn from their older siblings about theopportunities and resources that await themat the Boys & Girls Clubs. In essence, theDarden Restaurants Foundation programhas helped to create a cultural shift withinBoys & Girls Clubs across the countrytoward a college-bound culture.readyandwillingto succeedBoys & Girls Clubs of AmericaR E C I P E F O R S U C C E S S P R O G R A M S / 7