Union League Boys & Girls Clubs partners with Award USA to provide leadership development to Chicago youth
UNION LEAGUE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB MEMBERS IN HUMBOLDT PARK & PILSEN TO PARTICIPATE Â
CHICAGO, IL (October 12, 2022) — Union League Boys & Girls Clubs, which have been serving youth in neighborhoods with the highest hardship index in Chicago for over 100 years, has announced its partnership with The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award USA (Award USA).  Teen members of Union League Boys & Girls Clubs in Humboldt Park (Barreto Club and Clemente Club) and in Pilsen (Club One) now have the opportunity to take part in Award USA’s Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards to cultivate resilience, confidence, and leadership. Notably, Union League Boys & Girls Clubs is the only Boys & Girls Clubs organization in the country to offer this program to its members.
To complete the Award program, youth participants are challenged over time with goals in four sections of activities: skills, volunteer service, physical recreation, and outdoor adventures. Youth who complete their Award at the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels earn a resume level credential that is recognized worldwide. Upon completion, they are awarded a certificate of recognition, medal, and pin for their achievements at local celebrations; Gold-level Award holders are celebrated at a national Gold Award Ceremony hosted biannually by Award USA and international dignitaries. Award Holders also are able to participate in a global alumni award network as a result of participation.
“The Award is an incredible addition to the Union League Boys and Girls Club’s offerings. Working to connect and extend the activities Club members undertake, the Award will also promote perseverance, goal setting, and activities that enhance wellbeing, all of which are self-selected by Club members,” said Buffy Higgins-Beard, Award USA’s CEO. “The result is young people who are ready for their future, and #worldready through the Award’s framework and the connections it makes between young people and mentors as well as their community outreach and adventures.”
“Union League Boys & Girls Clubs are proud to be the only Boys & Girls Clubs organization nationally to participate in this valuable program,” said Union League Boys & Girls Clubs President & CEO Mary Ann Mahon Huels. “Both organizations seek to empower and equip our youth to take on the best opportunities the world has to offer; we look forward to seeing our Club members gain confidence through these unique experiences.”
About Award USA
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award USA (Award USA) is a flexible and proven not-for-profit youth development program for 14-24-year-olds that complements formal classroom learning and focuses on real-world experiences that build essential life skills including character, resilience, and self-confidence. The global, non-formal education framework challenges young people to develop new skills, get physically active, learn about teamwork and leadership through adventurous journeys, and volunteer within their community. In the United States, over 750 young people are currently pursuing their Award via 35 schools, after school programs such as Union League Boys & Girls Clubs, and youth more groups, while some 1.1 million young people are participating around the world. Since its launch more than 60 years ago, the Award now operates in over 130 countries and territories. Millions of young people have participated and received Awards, with millions more benefitting from its impact in communities around the world.
About Union League Boys & Girls Clubs
Since its founding on December 26, 1919, as a foundation of the Union League Club of Chicago, Union League Boys & Girls Clubs have been serving youth in neighborhoods with the highest hardship index in Chicago; providing quality programming centered on academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. Today, Union League Boys & Girls Clubs serve over 15,000 youth members at 21 well-equipped and professionally staffed inner-city Clubs, that bring effective after-school programming to youth in the Humboldt Park, Pilsen, Englewood, West Town, South Lawndale, West Garfield Park, Back of the Yards, Archer Heights, Homan Square and Little Village communities as well as to youth in the Juvenile Detention Center and at an overnight camp in Kenosha County Wisconsin. For more information on Union League Boys & Girls Clubs and its ongoing support of Chicago’s youth, visit www.ulbgc.org.
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NOTE: The Union League Boys & Girls Clubs is a charter of the national Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Union League Boys & Girls Clubs is distinct from Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago.
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Media contact:
Beth Silverman
The Silverman Group, Inc.
312.560.4783 (cell) | Beth@silvermangroupchicago.com