OUTSTANDING DENVER TEEN NAMED
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA’S NATIONAL YOUTH OF THE YEAR
NBC Icon Tim Russert Receives Humanitarian Award Posthumously

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 17, 2008) – Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) announced today at a Congressional Breakfast that Shonnetta Henry, a five-year member of Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, has been named the 2008-09 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. Henry is the 62nd youth to receive the title and will serve a one-year term as the national teen spokesperson for the 4.8 million youth served annually by the Clubs.

Henry’s first official duty immediately following the Congressional Breakfast is to speak at the launch of BGCA’s new advocacy campaign, BE GREAT, along with Club alum and BGCA’s national spokesperson, Denzel Washington. BE GREAT calls on the nation’s leaders and communities to tackle the tough issues facing today’s young people, and includes the resource www.be-great.org. After the launch event, Henry will deliver information on BE GREAT and the results of BGCA’s online survey identifying issues concerning teens to the offices of Sens. McCain and Obama.

Henry recently graduated from Denver’s East High School, where she was active in the Black Student Alliance, the varsity speech team and the East Theatre Company. She maintained an academic schedule that included five advanced placement courses and two accelerated courses. Additionally, she is a poet, dancer and caretaker for her younger sister and two brothers.

At her Boys & Girls Club, Henry was a Junior Staff member, president of the Keystone Club (a leadership group for teen members), a teacher for the Words Can Heal program (teaching members the power of language), and a participant in the Ink About It poetry writing and performance group. She also enjoyed helping younger members with their homework. Henry is currently a freshman at the University of New Mexico, majoring in psychology.

“I’m very proud of the accomplishments of Shonnetta and all the finalists,” said Roxanne Spillett, CEO and president, BGCA. “They are all living proof that the work of our Clubs is changing lives for the better.”

Henry’s fellow 2008 Youth of the Year finalists are: Felicia Arriaga, Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County (N.C.); Jamaal Phillips, Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club of St. Louis; Naquasia Pinchback, Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club (N.Y.); and Ashley Turner, Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metropolitan Area (Ore.).

In addition to the Youth of the Year announcement, the Congressional Breakfast also included the announcement of a new anti-steroids initiative between BGCA, Partnership for Drug Free America and Major League Baseball.

Another highlight was Maureen Orth accepting Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s prestigious Herbert Hoover Humanitarian Award posthumously honoring her late husband, Tim Russert. Russert was an avid supporter of Boys & Girls Clubs, having served on local Club boards in Washington, D.C., and Nantucket, Mass.

 

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