B.o.B, OMG Girlz, Jordin Sparks and More Join Boys & Girls Clubs of America to Empower Teens!

Raise your hand if you attended a Boys & Girls Club as a child (Raises Hand) and I’m not alone. I did a little survey of 10 of my closest friends and surprising from Harlem to North Carolina to Arizona everyone of us at some point stepped foot in a club. Over the weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 46th Annual National Keystone Conference, sponsored by the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens. More than 1,800 teens attend the conference representing over 157 cities across the world, they came to learn, they came to lead and they came to give back! The annual conference is one of the largest, most established youth leadership conferences in the country, and the most anticipated among Boys & Girls Club teens.

Themed “ATL–All Teens Lead,” the National Keystone Conference was what I have to say, one of the best teen leadership conferences I have ever witnessed. I had the chance to speak with several youth and the issues many of these kids are facing, I dont think adults have a club about. For instance, two teens took the time to tell myself and one of my partners Terrence Smalls about “Fish Bowl” parties? What is a fish bowl party you may ask, apparently it’s a new phenom among teens, where teens get together to do pills, two-four pills is usually the entry fee and you must do two pills to party? Sounds like not the smartest use of time, but true indeed this is happening and sadly teens are dying from this. Among other issues the teens mentioned were bullying and the increase in teen suicide.

Make no mistake about it, this conference was needed, now more than ever in the U.S. Statistics show that more than 1 in 4 students fails to graduate from high school each year; 1 in 3 kids is overweight or obese; and the teen unemployment rate is at a record high. To address these and other challenges, Keystone Conference participants discussed solutions and developed action plans for addressing the most pressing issues facing youth in their local Clubs and communities.

One of the highlights for the teens was the bevy of celebrities who joined them to not only perform, but also bless these them with some sound words of advice. Celebrities including: singer and actress Jordin Sparks ; hip hop artist B.o.B; and pop group OMG Girlz were among this years performances. Motivational sessions featured rap and hip hop pioneers Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-D.M.C., Doug. E. Fresh and DJ Spinderella of Salt-n-Pepa; professional skateboarder Preston Pollard ; and WWE wrestler and actress Eve Torres.

During the ‘Hip Hop Saved My Life’ discussion, DMC spoke about it being cool to attend school and referenced his time at St. Johns University in Queens, NY. I for one was surprised that these teens not only knew the panel, but also their entire catalog of work, all the teens were on their feet when Dougie Fresh gave us an impromptu performance. Of course what I loved most is that it was not all fun and games, the teens also took time to volunteer throughout metro Atlanta by feeding the homeless and planting trees. Workshops throughout the weekend included everything from from bullying prevention, financial literacy and college preparedness to robotics, golf to movie making!

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America president and CEO Jim Clark, said he believes a critical step to ensuring success for teens is to actively engage them and empower them to lead through initiatives like the Keystone Conference. We agree, these teens are our future, let’s take the steps to empower them to lead!

The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens was on hand to introduce their new program to the teen leaders called Graduate Mas, in partnership with Get Schooled, the program challenges America’s teens to make a personal promise to graduate high school and join our digital community of pledges. Once registered, teens receive the information and inspiration they need to succeed. By staying active, they can earn points for prizes, rewards and educational support, including scholarships, and mentoring resources in their communities. For more information, visit graduateformas.com.

“The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens has supported the National Keystone Conference for more than 15 years, and we are proud of the positive impact this event has had on so many young lives,” , saidRegina Borda, managing director, Taco Bell Foundation for Teens. “It is our hope that by providing experiences like these, we can inspire and enable more teens across the country to achieve Mas, starting with high school graduation.”

Let me just say that if your kid is not spending some time at their local Boys & Girls Club, I encourage you to check them out, it’s not the same Boy & Girls Club, it’s certainly evolved, offering computer & video game programing, journalism initiatives and much more. For more information on your local Boys & Girls club visit www.bgca.org. Check out the photos below and visit the BCG Twitter Page, follow our hashtag BGCAGives for all our highlights during the conference.

B.o.B Takes Stage at Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Keystone Conference All Teens Lead Presented by the Taco Bell for Teens Foundation!

Hip Hop Saved My Life Panel Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Keystone Conference All Teens Lead Presented by the Taco Bell for Teens Foundation!