December 9-During the third week of November, Center for a New Generation (CNG) hosted Scholar of the Year celebrations at our Hoover, James Flood, Belle Haven, and East Palo Alto Academy school sites. Each site invited five finalists who had already written and revised six personal essays to spend the evening interviewing with a panel of judges and giving a speech to an audience of family members, school and CNG staff members, and other CNG supporters.

We heard 17 impressively introspective and evocative speeches during these events. Many of these depicted personal struggles to overcome such challenges as serious medical difficulties, placement in special needs classes, making one's way toward college and a career as an undocumented person, parent deportation, and family financial strain. Other speeches focused on personal traits—such as humor and involvement—that have helped the finalist thrive despite life's stresses, while still others ruminated on the way things are in our society as compared to the way things should be.

The maturity of the speeches left attendees each night thoroughly moved. The judges found selecting a Scholar of the Year representative for each site difficult, but they and the staff were proud of their choices:

Erica Soto for Hoover Community School

Anthony Johnson for James Flood Magnet School

Alejandro Verduzco for Belle Haven Community School

Rosamia Morales for East Palo Alto Academy

On December 9, these finalists came together for the Scholar of the Year finals. Each site's representative again was interviewed by a panel of judges and presented his or her speech to an audience of supporters. Though the judges were challenged with the difficult task of choosing only one student to award this honor, they proudly presented the 2009 Scholar of the Year:

Anthony Johnson

May 4, 2009 - Nearly 300 guests - including Mayors and City Council members from East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City, educators, donors, and friends - packed into the Boys & Girls Club in East Palo Alto Saturday night to play like children.

Their behavior was truly appropriate for the Club's 7th annual Be a Kid for a Night event. Throughout the evening guests participated in games, sports, and educational activities like Jeopardy and Boys & Girls Clubs Idol where guests recorded their own songs and left with a personalized CD.

Dinner commenced with a warm welcome by 2008 Youth of the Year, Julia Cook, introducing her successor, 2009 Youth of the Year, Elisabeth Barragan, who served as the evening's emcee. Guests were treated to inspiring performances by Club member Janay Scott singing God Bless America and Ulysses Torres and Jessie Arias, two 2nd graders from the Club's Mervin G. Morris Clubhouse, performing How I've Changed -- both receiving standing ovations.

Following dinner, East Palo Alto Police Chief, Ron Davis, spoke about the important role that the Club plays in the community and how education is the key to success of all children. Davis went on to encourage guests to support the Club noting that California is currently determining prisons to be built based, in-part, on the number of 3rd graders failing in reading. Redwood City Mayor, Rosanne Foust, James Flood School Principal, Cammie Harris, and Cañada College President, Tom Mohr, echoed Davis' sentiments.

Their comments and the overall Be a Kid for a Night experience must have resonated because during the ensuing Fund a Need session, guests pledged more than $160,000 to support Club programs including College Bound, Athletics, Teen and Art. Below are some memorable moments from the event. The Club is enormously grateful to Board members and event co-chairs, Amy Boyle and Andrea Gandolfo, event sponsors, and all the Club's staff and youth that helped to make this year's Be a Kid for a Night the best ever.