Boys & Girls Club Youth Beating the Odds

L to R: Hal Mooz (Connie's husband), Demetrius Hill, Club Volunteer Connie Heldman, Juan Sandoval and Martell Winn. Dania Reed was not available for photo

Martell Winn, Dania Reed and Demetrius Hill have a number of things in common. Each of them grew up facing adversity.

They were all members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, where they participated in the Club's Reading Wizards and school-based Center for a New Generation programs. Each of them also caught the attention of Connie Heldman, a Club volunteer who was commuting from her home in Tiburon to the Boys & Girls Club in East Palo Alto to run the Reading Wizards program that she created.

Another commonality is that four years ago, all of them were accepted to Sacred Heart Preparatory High School in Atherton and are now looking forward to college.

On May 22, they graduated from high school. Martell received a special award, one of the highest honor the school can bestow on a graduating student. It was for his personal and active faith in God. Connie Heldman was there — wild horses couldn't have kept her away.

"I remember these children who I met so long ago," she says. "They didn't think they had a chance in this world. They were told that they weren't smart enough and that they should not waste time reaching for the stars.

"I remember the trials and ridicule they had to overcome to focus on their studies and school and stay out of gangs and drugs. And, how they have now become role models for their younger siblings and countless others at the Boys & Girls Club and beyond.

"I will remember all of the wonderful staff and volunteers at the Club who helped and supported them and made them feel welcome. I will remember and I will cry tears of joy."

Club Executive Director Peter Fortenbaugh said he applauded the students, as well as numerous other Club members who are graduating from high school this year and going on to college. "They are truly beating the odds," he said, noting that upwards of 70 percent of youth from the areas served by the Club (east Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, and Redwood City) do not graduate from high school.

In an effort to improve the high school graduation rate, the Club partners with schools and families, offers programs focused on reading, math and science, and has launched College Bound, a new program designed to help youth graduate from high school with a plan for their future.

There are currently 90 youth enrolled in the program.

This summer, a number of College Bound participants will go on field trips, most to high schools, colleges and companies, but there will be one unusual destination: a prison.

"Why? Because statistics show that 80 percent of inmates in prison were high school dropouts," says Sean Mendy, the director of the Club's College Bound program. "We want them to see what is possible if they graduate and if they don't.

"We want them to know that people believe in them and they can graduate, go on to college and be successful in whatever they apply themselves to."