Jennifer, the 2012 BGCM Youth of the Year with Ivan Gilreath, President / CEO of BGCM

On Saturday, January 28^th, Jennifer Jiminez was named the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands Youth of the Year before a group of area supporters, friends and family at the annual organizational competition held at the Woodmen Tower. She was one of five contestants, each representing an area Club to compete from the title.

Other candidates included Devin Young (Carter Lake Unit), Allysia Holm-Peoples (Mt. View Unit), Darian Henry (North Unit) and Devin Rollins (Westside Unit).

Jennifer, along with the other candidates delivered their speeches and gave interviews in front of a panel of judges including Victor Baez, Tom Kerr, Rick Kimble, Clarence Nichols and Marjory Podraza.

Jennifer began her speech in Spanish.

“I am the Boys & Girls Clubs,” Jiminez said, translating her original statement.

She recounted her early childhood difficulties in earning English.

“I couldn’t understand what the teachers were telling me at school,” Jennifer said. “I felt frustrated, dumb and out of place.”

On top of cultural setbacks, Jennifer said her family’s tight finances were another source of anxiety, leading the family to live out of a car for months and ration food.

“My parents never had money to put me in a sports class or a dance class,” Jiminez said. “But at the Boys & Girls Club, I didn’t care. I had this wonderful opportunity to enjoy being myself. I learned so many things that I still use today.”

Jiminez’s next stop is the state Youth of the Year Competition in Lincoln, March 20th. There she will compete against other organizational winners from across Nebraska for the state title. If selected, she will compete for the title of Midwest Regional Youth of the Year to win a $10,000 college scholarship. Regional Youth of the Year candidates compete for the national title in Washington, DC.

Pictures From the 2012 BGCM Youth of the Year:

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About Jennifer Jiminez

Jennifer  is currently a senior at Westside High School and has been coming to The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands South Unit for 4 years. She was born in Los Angeles, California and moved to Omaha, Nebraska when she was 7 years old. She’s been active in the Club, and is always willing to help. Upon high school graduation, Jennifer plans on attending the Art Institute of Los Angeles, where she will work towards a degree in fashion design. It is her dream to pursue a career in the fashion industry.

The National Youth of the Year Program is designed to promote and recognize service to Club and community, academic performance and contributions to family and spiritual life. Competition begins with each Club selecting a Youth of the Year who receives a certificate and medallion, and then represents their Club at the State level competition. Below are the candidates selected to represent each of the six Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands locations, in the upcoming Youth of the Year competition on January 28, 2012 (click here for event details).

Devin Young

Carter Lake Unit

7-Year Member

Thomas Jefferson High School

11th Grade

Devin has participated in numerous club programs including Passport to Manhood, Smart Moves, Club Possible, Triple Play, Torch Club, Keystone Club, Image Makers, and many others. On top of his busy schedule at the Club, he is active in his school and community. Some of his after-school activities include: cross country, baseball, basketball, track and Engineering Club. Devin is an intelligent, goal-oriented young man with many opportunities in front of him.

Kristen Hemmingsen

Council Bluffs Unit

3-Year Member

Lewis Central High School

11th Grade

Kristen is a member of several school clubs such as swimming, bowling, vocal music, track & field and also volunteers as a football manager. At the Club, she’s been involved with many different programs and currently serves as the secretary for the Keystone Club. Kristen has one sibling, a younger brother whom she loves to help with homework and sports. She plans to graduate from Lewis Central in 2013 and enter college that fall to pursue a degree in Athletic Training.  

Allysia M. Holm-Peoples

Mt. View Unit

2-Year Member

Omaha Northwest High School

10th Grade

Allysia (A-lee-see-ya) is an honor student, student-athlete, a member of the student council, a member of the Magnet Law Program and a member of the varsity basketball & volleyball teams.  Her hobbies include: art, fashion design and working with younger members at the Club.  Allysia aspires to become a successful attorney and have an impact on the lives of the young people in her community. 

Darain Henry

North Unit

3-Year Member

Omaha Central High School

Graduate

Darain has participated in many Club programs including: CareerLaunch, Keystone Club, SMART Girls, Road Code, and Stock Market Challenge and continues to volunteer at the Club. Outside the Club, she volunteers at Salem Baptist Church Child Care Center, assisting with serving food, clean up, distributing snacks, and reading time. Darain will attend Metro Community College this spring and to begin a two-year program in Nursing. Afterwards, she plans to enroll in the University of Nebraska-Omaha and obtain a bachelor’s degree in Nursing with the ultimate goal of becoming a Registered Nurse.

Jennifer Jimenez

South Unit

4-Year Member

Westside High School

12th Grade

Jennifer was born in Los Angeles, California and moved to Omaha, Nebraska when she was 7 years old. She’s been active in the Club, and is always willing to help. Upon high school graduation, Jennifer plans on attending the Art Institute of Los Angeles, where she will work towards a degree in fashion design. It is her dream to pursue a career in the fashion industry.

Devin Rollins

Westside Unit

6-Year Member

Westside High School

10th Grade

Devin has been actively involved in the club, its programs and activities, specifically the Torch Club, Passport to Manhood, Keystone, Power Hour, the Westside Club Basketball Team and more. Devin always has a positive attitude and strives to help his peers at the Club better themselves by being a leader and exhibiting model behavior.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) named Austin Hadfield the Midwest regional winner in its 10^th AnnualClub Tech Digital Arts Festivals competition for his entry in the Photo Tech category. As a regional winner, Hadfield, 17 will move on to represent the Midwest region at the national level of competition for the 16-18 age group.

For the Photo Tech category, Boys & Girls Club members were asked to create a poster that showcased citizens engaged in activities that give back to their community or depicts someone who models good character. Hadfield’s poster creation, entitled Great Leadership showcased his creativity and tech skills learned at The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands. The entry will be judged by a panel of national experts.

Austin H.'s winning submission: Great Leadership

“Through theClub TechDigital Arts Festivals we’re able to inspire our future designers, game developers, filmmakers and musicians,” saidDan Rauzi, senior director of technology programs, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “It is amazing what our kids and teens can do when given access to technology and allowed to express themselves creatively.”

Club Tech Digital Arts Festivals allow BGCA, along with founding sponsor Microsoft and Comcast, to give young people an avenue to get creative and design original pieces of digital artwork—from posters and PSAs to stop-motion animation and logos. The competition is one component of the Club Tech program which teaches critical technology skills. Members from across the globe, age 6-18 can take the tech skills they’ve learned through their Boys & Girls Clubs and enter various categories. In 2010, more than 20,000 young people participated in local contests.

“WithClub Tech, members are introduced to the world of clay animation, robotics, game design, digital movie making, photo illustration, graphic design and music production,” added Rauzi. “We’re giving them real-world skills that will not only help them excel in school, but create a future career.”

National teen winners receive an expenses-paid summer trip that includes sightseeing and job-shadowing experiences. In years past, winners have visited colleges and the offices of large corporations such as Microsoft, Comcast and Best Buy to get a behind-the-scenes look at potential careers.

The Festivals are just one way that Boys & Girls Clubs of America, founding sponsor Microsoft and Comcast hope to technologically enable some 4 million youth served by some 4,000 Clubs nationwide and abroad through Club membership and community outreach. Club Tech also provides software, develops and delivers curricula, and provides program management and computer training for staff and youth. The sponsorship allows Clubs to integrate technology into every aspect of the organization’s fabric, from overall management to core programs. To learn more about the technology programs offered at Boys & Girls Clubs, visit www.bgca.org/clubtech.

On November 10, 2011, our teens participated in our 4th annual Stock Market Challenge event in the afternoon, while over 200 participants from Omaha’s business community came together that evening to buy, sell and trade their way to the title of Stock Market Challenge champion.

In the end, The Kitty Cats team from our Council Bluffs unit were the champions during the teen event.  Our corporate winners that evening were the Energizers from Tenaska.

This event would not have been possible without the help of all of our generous sponsors, our 2011 Event Chairs, Judy Willour and Casey Fehringer, our Boys & Girls Clubs Family Guild, our BGC staff and our evening emcees — BGCM CEO, Ivan Gilreath and Channel 6 Newscaster, Jim Siedlecki.

The funds raised at our 2011 Stock Market Challenge help provide services to over 6,000 members that belong to one of our Clubs.  With membership fees at only $30 a year, the Club relies on support from the community to help  provide the programs we offer every day after school and during the summer.  Almost 160 of our Club teens participated in the Stock Market Challenge event in the afternoon, with the help of our partners from University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Business.  UNO College of Business faculty and students provided the training support prior to the game and served as our floor traders for both events.

Our winning teens, The Kitty Cats, ended with a net worth of just over $1.1 million and collectively received $5,000 from First National Bank’s Nebraska Educational Savings Trust and $400 in Visa Gift Cards.

On Saturday, September 17th, BGCM celebrated our Day for Kids!  We had over 600 people involved that included youth, parents, community members and staff.  We had music and dancing, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, and a “Reptile Show” by David Neives.  There were many community booths and volunteers from all over the city.

Mayor Jim Suttle attended our Day for Kids and he said he enjoyed dancing with all of the kids.  The Urban League was also very generous and sent people over to help with the day’s events.

There were so many positive and fun things that took place, we can’t wait until next year’s Day for Kids!

Click here for more pictures.