Youth of the Year
Benefits and Honors
Each of our five Branches select an eligible Boy and Girl Youth of the Year Winners annually. One candidate each year is identified to represent the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sun Corridor in the State of Arizona Competition in Phoenix every April. Our 2019 Casa Grande Youth of the Year was Abbigayle Mendoza. We also recognize members from each Branch and award categories of all ages in the five core program areas of the Club at our Youth of the Year Breakfast.
2019 Youth of the Year
Abbigayle is a junior at Vista Grande High School and hopes to attend college and later become an FBI special agent. She wants to attend Central Arizona College and in law enforcement training as she is currently enrolled in CAVIT, the Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology with the law enforcement program.
From teaching kids how to draw their favorite superheroes to helping with homework, Abbigayle strives to make every child feel special at the Club. She has been a member for eleven years, and now loves volunteering at the Ironwood Branch by helping kids. Abbigayle has been a two-time recipient of the volunteer award and also was named the Volunteer of the Year for 2017. The organization has helped her overcome her shyness and grow as an individual.
“The biggest benefit to volunteering with the organization is the opportunity to help others, and I feel that the Boys & Girls Clubs is a great place for kids and it’s a safe place for them to go after school where they can make friends and learn new things.” – Abbigayle Mendoza, Ironwood Branch
About Youth of the Year
Since 1947, Youth of the Year has been Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s premier recognition program, celebrating the extraordinary achievements of Club members. Each year, one exceptional young person from a Boys & Girls Club rises to the role of National Youth of the Year. The National Youth of the Year serves as both an exemplary ambassador for Boys & Girls Club youth and as a strong voice for all of our nation’s young people. The journey to being named National Youth of the Year begins locally and progresses to state, regional and national levels, with an additional military phase for members of BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations.
National Youth of the Year
Each year, one exceptional Club member is selected to be the National Youth of the Year, serving as an ambassador for Boys & Girls Club youth as well as a voice for all of our nation’s young people. Over the decades, these individuals have exemplified the Boys & Girls Club mission and are proof to the impact Clubs make in transforming and saving kids’ lives. National Youth of the Year winners have achieved success in a variety of industries, including entertainment, politics, business and sports.
Becoming National Youth of the Year is an exciting and inspiring journey. Each year, thousands of Club teens participate in local, state and regional Youth of the Year events. Six teens, including five regional winners and a national military youth winner, advance to Washington, D.C., for the National Youth of the Year Gala & Celebration Dinner, where one outstanding young person is named Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national teen spokesperson. The National Youth of the Year is a role model, leader and advocate for the nearly 4 million youth served by Boys & Girls Clubs each year, and all of America’s young people.
Past Winners (YOTY Alumni)
2020
N/A
2015
Jacob Green
2010
N/A
2005
Christa Barber
2019
Abbigayle Mendoza
2014
Giovanni Marques
2009
Tiffany Faulkner
2004
Audra Calkins
2018
Kymani Bledsoe
2013
Maeghan Gabriel
2008
Joaquin Campos
2003
Valerie Felder
2017
Serena Mena
2012
Maeghan Gabriel
2007
Steven Aguirre
2002
Lindsay Bonjour
2016
Serena Mena
2011
Tyler Peck
2006
Jesus Apodaca
2001
Thomas Lopez, III