YouthQuest Foundation Co-Founder and Vice President Allen Cage joined hundreds of students, parents and community leaders at Tuesday night’s Step Up Loudoun Youth Competition in Ashburn, Va.
Allen Cage with Jared Melvin
“We’re proud to be part of this and I applaud each and every one of you,” he told the crowd. “You do great work and keep it up.”
Forty-six teams from middle schools and high schools in Loudoun County were judged on presentations about their projects to solve problems in their community.
Allen kicked off the evening by presenting a check for $2,450 to Loudoun Youth President and CEO Jared Melvin, noting that this is the third year YouthQuest has provided the prize money for the contest.
“We look forward to doing it again next year, too,” he added.
Allen tells the judges about Youthquest
Before the event at the Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building began, Allen spoke about YouthQuest with the contest judges, who represented a wide variety of area businesses and organizations.
“We’re all about the kids,” he said, explaining that the Foundation raises funds nationwide to support youth programs such as Step Up.
Madeline O’Neill explains her winning project to judge Cory Laws
Madeline O’Neill from Dominion High School won the $1,000 first prize for Special Needs Dream. Her project aims to increase community awareness of what people with special needs can contribute, and to provide educational and social events where families with special-needs children can connect.
The $500 second-place award went to the Happiness: Don’t Drink and Drive team.
Each of the three teams that tied for third place received $250. The prize for fourth through tenth place was $100.
Click here to see a full list of the winning teams.
The YouthQuest Foundation is proud to sponsor Loudoun Youth, Inc.’s annual Step Up competition.
The 2013 contest winners visited YouthQuest headquarters this summer to talk about their projects.
Anoop Hariharan from J. Michael Lunsford Middle School won the $1,000 first prize for creating Learning Instantly, which uses entertaining educational videos he and his friends produce to help students prepare for Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL) exams.
The second-place finishers, Aashish Batheja, Raghav Saravanan, Robin Jiang, Harish Sundar from Lunsford Middle School, won $500 for Mission Possible: Knock Out Bullying, a campaign to reduce bullying in their school and community.
Courtney Latourrette, Torie Alfonso, Kristen Langley, Courtney Davis of Briar Woods High School were awarded the $250 third prize for Share A Smile, a program that encourages people to practice random acts of kindness and serve as community volunteers.
Step Up encourages middle and high school students in Loudoun County, Va., to identify an issue facing local teens, create a plan to address that issue, and implement the plan. The result is a tangible experience that sets apart the participants as action-oriented, can-do young adults with the self-motivation and determination to make a difference in their community.
YouthQuest awarded a grant to fund the awards for next year’s Step Up competition to Loudoun Youth CEO Jared Melvin during the Foundation’s charity event in August, the 8th Annual Challenge at Trump National Golf Club.
“It was a grand day for America’s at-risk youth,” says YouthQuest Foundation Co-Founder and President Lynda Mann.
The 8th Annual Challenge at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Va., on Aug. 12 was YouthQuest’s most successful fundraiser ever.
“The weather was great, the event was great, people really enjoyed themselves,” says Lynda.
After watching a trick-shot performance by the always-entertaining Brad Denton, 115 golfers headed out for a shotgun start on Trump’s challenging Championship Course.
“It was the largest field of golfers we’ve ever had and there were more new sponsors than in previous years,” says YouthQuest Secretary Bill Hall.
Fetch makes his tournament debut
One sign of the growing community support for our tournament was the presence of Fetch, the big, floppy-eared mascot for the Loudoun Hounds baseball team of the independent Atlantic League. While Fetch and his handlers from the Hounds greeted players on the 1st tee, representatives from the North American Soccer League’s Virginia Cavalry FC manned the 18th. This is the first year we’ve had the Hounds and Cavalry as tournament sponsors.
Both teams are part of VIP Sports & Entertainment, whose vice chairman is Joe Travez, a valued partner in our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education initiative. He’s the CEO of Prototype Productions, Inc. in Ashburn, which hosted a tour in June for the students in our first 3D printing class. Mr. Travez’s message to the teens from Maryland’s Freestate ChalleNGe Academy during their visit was inspirational and we hope to make PPI an integral part of our expanded STEM program.
The money raised through the golf tournament helps us provide academic and vocational development, infrastructure support and life-enriching experiences that give troubled teens the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Thanks to our supporters’ generous contributions, we will be able to reach many more students with our 3D printing project. We’ll also promote the growth of GRL-PWR, the girls’ empowerment program that came to our attention through our sponsorship of the Loudoun Youth Step Up competition.
Bill, who chairs the golf tournament committee, says what our guests learn about YouthQuest during the event makes a strong impression. He recalls one player from Hewlett-Packard telling him: “This is the kind of stuff we need to be supporting. This I can see makes a difference.”
Besides contributing to a good cause, players come back year after year because “it’s just a fun tournament,” says Lynda.
Washington Redskins alumni Mike Nelms, Roy Jefferson and Mike Bragg sign a football for Destination Cellars CEO David Keuhner and his son, Jaden.
“The celebrities are always a big hit,” adds Bill. “One guy said ‘I’m a great Redskins fan, so try to put a Redskin with me,’ which we did.”
The Washington Redskins alumni are perennial favorites. Executive Director Jerry Olsen, Charley Taylor, Jimmie Jones, Mike Nelms, Roy Jefferson, Mike Bragg and Ravin Caldwell were on this year’s tournament roster.
Adding some sports diversity to the field of golfers, we also welcomed former Major League Baseball pitcher Pete Schourek, along with retired Major League Soccer goalkeepers Mike Ammann and Mark Simpson. Both used to play for DC United and Mark is now director of soccer operations for the Cavalry.
Pete Schourek in action
We were also honored to have Fairfax City Chief Dave Rohr playing again this year, in addition to other local first responders. Representing Fairfax County Fire & Rescue were Deputy Chief Michael Reilly, retired Deputy Chief Glenn Benarick and retired firefighters Rand Gaber and Oliver Skinker.
After a sun-and-fun-filled day on the course, everyone cooled off at a reception and awards ceremony at the Trump National clubhouse.
Our Director of Training and Volunteer of the Year, Tom Meeks, demonstrated 3D printing and GRL-PWR Co-Founder Royal Phillips spoke about our partnership.
3D Systems Director of Social Impact Leanne Gluck accepted our Additive Manufacturing Strategic Partner Award. The company’s support has been essential in the development of our 3D printing project. It provided the hardware the students use and hosted a tour of the plant where the Cube 3D printers are built.
Community Partner Awards went to the NFL Players Association and Washington Redskins Chapter of NFL Alumni, Inc., along with Michael Garcia, operating partner of Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in McLean, Va., which hosted the tournament’s VIP reception on Aug. 8. Ritzert & Leyton, PC sponsored the VIP reception at Fleming’s.
Loudoun Youth CEO Jared Melvin putts on the 1st green as Lynda Mann and Roy Jefferson watch.
The Foundation also awarded grants to Luke’s Wings and Loudoun Youth’s Step Up.
Luke’s Wings is a nonprofit organization that provides flights for families to visit wounded American servicemembers who are hospitalized or in rehabilitation. YouthQuest understands that separation can be a serious risk factor for children in military families, especially in times of crisis. By bringing families together, Luke’s Wings helps reduce the risks for kids.
The Step Up contest challenges Loudoun County middle and high school students to become leaders by identifying problems in their communities and developing solutions. YouthQuest is pleased to renew its sponsorship of the competition.
The Trump National staff deserves an award, too, for their quick response to anything we needed. All of our tournament participants were treated to a first-class experience.
“We love having our event at Trump because their staff makes us look really good,” says Lynda. “They just make it happen.”
There’s just one thing that would make our signature fundraising event better, says Lynda. That is if Donald Trump’s busy schedule allows him to accept our invitation to play in the 9th Annual Challenge at Trump National on Aug. 11, 2014.
The YouthQuest Foundation has teamed up with GRL-PWR founders Bria Toussaint and Royal Phillips to expand their girls’ empowerment program.
The Foundation connected Bria and Royal with the South Carolina Youth ChalleNGe Academy in Eastover, where they spent last weekend teaching a group of female Cadets how to build self-esteem and be positive role models. Now that these at-risk teens are familiar with the curriculum and class activities, those who choose to continue with the program can work with Bria and Royal to become official GRL-PWR mentors for younger girls.
South Carolina is the third state to get a taste of GRL-PWR.
It started in Virginia three years ago when Bria and Royal were students at Freedom High School in Loudoun County. They had been through challenges that are common to at-risk youth, including low self-esteem, poverty, divorce, domestic violence and family tragedy. At age 16, Bria went through the ordeal of confronting her father’s murderer in court. Instead of becoming victims of their situation, Bria and Royal bonded and created a program to help other at-risk girls. GRL-PWR won first place in last year’s Loudoun Youth Step Up competition, which our Foundation sponsors. Step Up gives teens the opportunity to develop solutions to problems they see in their communities.
Encouraged by the recognition from YouthQuest and Loudoun Youth, Bria and Royal turned GRL-PWR into a nonprofit organization and set their sights on reaching more girls. As freshmen at Spelman College in Atlanta, they launched a GRL-PWR class for 5th and 6th graders at a charter school. They’re starting a program on the Spelman campus to train students to be mentors for younger girls.
The YouthQuest Foundation will continue to help Bria and Royal take GRL-PWR to Youth ChalleNGe academies in states from coast to coast.
