Youth of the Year

Youth of the Year

The Youth of the Year (YOY) award is an annual Boys & Girls Clubs initiative to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of Club members on a regional, state, and national scale. Each year, Boys & Girls Clubs of Austin selects one exemplary youth ambassador, who embodies the values of leadership and service, academic excellence, and healthy lifestyles, to represent our local organization and advance onto the state-level Boys & Girls’ Clubs Youth of the Year Awards.

On February 20th, we recognized the efforts of our two Austin area finalists, Marley A. and Ma’Khiyah S., both of whom have been attending Boys & Girls Clubs of Austin since they were in elementary school.

Event Details

Date
February 2024

Location
Home Club on the Sheth Family Campus

More Info
home.club@bgcaustin.org
512-444-7199

Congratulations to our 2024 Youth of the Year Winner, Marley!

A Club kid since the 3rd grade, Marley A. credits Boys & Girls Club with helping her develop the confidence and discipline she needed to pursue her love for basketball and a college career. This year, she helped the Navarro Girls Varsity basketball team make it to the playoffs for the second year in a row, and this fall she will start at the University of Houston to study pre-law.

“At the Boys and Girls Club, I found my first group of friends, played team basketball for the first time, and attended my first UT basketball game,” Marley said. “Although the events were truly amazing, the people I met along the way, staff members, old classmates, and friends, made being a Club member worthwhile. I will cherish Club memories forever and carry the experiences and lessons throughout my adult life.”

Meet our 2024 Youth of the Year Runner-Up, Ma’Khiyah!

Ma’Khiyah has been with BGC Austin since she was 9, and says she is grateful for the safe space the Club provided for her to explore her artistic interests and connect with her community. During her time at the Club, Ma’Khiyah worked on projects like an architectural model for the redesign of an abandoned Home Depot store. This fall, Ma’Khiyah will attend Texas State University to study Communication Design and hopes to one day work in film. 

“Boys and Girls Club taught me to incorporate tiny bits of time into what I needed to get done, even when I didn’t want to,” she said. “Being able to know what I wanted to do, writing it out, then planning my ideas was one of my biggest steps of growth.”

We are always looking for partners to champion the mission of BGCAA and be ambassadors for the kids in Austin that would otherwise be left behind.

Become a Partner

Make an Impact

Your gift to Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area powers hundreds of academic support hours, thousands of meals and snacks, and countless smiles at our Clubs.