Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark

Programs

YOUTH OF THE YEAR

Youth of the Year is BGCN’s premier youth recognition program, celebrating service to Club, community and family as well as accomplishments in academic performance, moral character, life goals and public speaking. Each of our Club Units selects one member between the ages of 14-18 who demonstrates these characteristics. A Youth of the Year is then chosen for all of Newark and is awarded an academic scholarship. BGCN’s Youth of the Year competes in the Boys & Girls Clubs of New Jersey’s state competition and has the potential to move on to regional and national competitions. The National Youth of the Year is installed by the President of the United States in the Oval Office of the White House.

Ade'Kamil Kelly

2013 Central Ward Clubhouse Youth of the Year

Ade'Kamil Kelly joined the Newark Boys and Girls Clubs Central Ward Clubhouse in the summer of 2011. His first introduction to the club was as a volunteer during the summer enrichment program. Although Ade has been a member for only a short time, he has taken advantage of all the programs that are offered at BGCN, including Stand and Deliver, Chess Club, Career Launch, Teen Talk, Book Club, Poetry Club, The Brandon Moore Prep Program, Counselor in Training (CIT) Program, and Keystone. Ade' currently serves as the President of the Central Ward Ambassadors' Keystone Club.

Under his leadership Keystone has increased its participation in many service based activities, including Clubhouse Cleanups, service collaborations with other area clubhouses, clothing drives, and fundraisers. During his time as a CIT he was selected by staff and his peers as CIT of the Week for five weeks during the eight week summer program. In addition to the activities at the club, Ade' has served as a math tutor in his class at East Orange Campus High and at the middle school he graduated from, St. Philip's Academy. He has been described by many teachers and friends as a kind, generous, trustworthy young man who takes pride in his personal and academic life.

He began his membership in service to the club and his participation has been marked by his continued efforts to serve both his Clubhouse and his community. He embodies all the characteristics that BGCN programs teach our youth. Ade' has shown that he strives to live up to the words of Gandhi, "be the change you wish to see in the world".

Ade currently resided with his grandmother. He plans to go to college and aspires to be a police officer, so he can protect the people in his community and be of service to them, or become an educator so that he can inspire students to be the best that they can be, or become a millionaire accountant so that, in his words, "he can help provide better programs, and a more awesome facility for his Boys & Girls Club."