Denzel Washington and Boys & Girls Club VIPs Kick-Off New Campaign on Capitol Hill

Boys & Girls Clubs of America Press Release:

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA TO LAUNCH “BE GREAT” ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN

Denzel Washington and Boys & Girls Club VIPs Kick-Off New Campaign on Capitol Hill;
Some 20 Prominent Alumni will Join the Effort

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 17, 2008) -- America’s youth need your help. From academic failure and gang violence to poverty, drugs and obesity, they face a daunting array of problems with serious consequences and fewer safety nets at home and in the community.

To address these issues and call America to action, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), the nation’s largest youth development network, is kicking off a new integrated advocacy campaign called BE GREAT, led by national spokesperson and Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington.

Other Club alumni joining Washington in the BE GREAT campaign include: Muhammad Ali, Swin Cash, Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, Cuba Gooding Jr., Michael Jordan, Queen Latifah, Mario Lopez, John Mellencamp, Edward James Olmos, Smokey Robinson, John Singleton, Ruben Studdard, Usher, Courtney Vance, Mark Wahlberg and Kerry Washington.

“As someone whose life was changed dramatically by the Boys & Girls Club, I can think of no better organization to lead the country in addressing the pressing needs of today’s young people,” said Washington. “I also believe that as adults, we must assume responsibility for many of the conditions that are preventing our young people from achieving their full potential.”

The BE GREAT campaign will be unveiled today after a Congressional Breakfast on Capitol Hill. At the breakfast, BGCA will announce the organization’s 2008 – 2009 National Youth of the Year, who will share her/his story about how the Boys & Girls Club has affected her/his life. Following the event, the new National Youth of the Year will personally deliver a report of recommendations to the offices of Senators John McCain and Barack Obama to convey the issues of most concern to America’s teens.

The BE GREAT campaign was developed after BGCA conducted an online survey of more than 1,100 teens earlier this year in which 33 percent said that academic failure is the top issue facing America. In the survey, another 67 percent reported knowing someone who had dropped out of high school.

In March 2008, BGCA hosted a national Teen Town Hall meeting in Los Angeles, where young Americans (20 percent) expressed concern about the rising level of teen pregnancy and 22 percent reported knowing students who regularly carry weapons to school.

In response, BGCA’s advocacy campaign urges Americans to:
• Get involved in the life of a child by volunteering, serving on a local board or financially supporting local Boys & Girls Clubs.
• Ask elected officials to call attention to the issues affecting young people, and to direct more partnerships and resources toward solutions.
• Reconnect and re-engage as alumni with organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs that positively impacted their lives as youth.
• Host a youth forum in their community.