volunteer – The YouthQuest Foundation

YouthQuest Foundation Honors 2016 Award Winners

August 26, 2016 stevep News

YouthQuest recognized the Foundation’s leading supporters by presenting awards at our annual VIP Reception on August 4.

Volunteer of the Year

Valerie Hightower from AOC Solutions has been an incredible volunteer supporter of YouthQuest ever since our inception 11 years ago. She has been behind the scenes at every event, providing critical services to make sure administrative and fundraising tasks are executed expertly.

Valerie’s dedication to helping America’s at-risk youth is only surpassed by her devotion to her family, including her daughter Sarah, who also serves as a YouthQuest volunteer.

We are truly grateful for Valerie’s continued support of our efforts and proud to honor her as our 2016 Volunteer of the Year.

Community Partner Award

Duncan-Parnell, a company whose services include 3D printing and prototyping, is the recipient of our 2016 Community Partner Award.

During our 3D ThinkLink training, students are exposed to both academic and job opportunities in the 3D field. Duncan-Parnell’s 3D specialists make time in their busy schedules to host Vocational Orientation tours of their facility in Charlotte, North Carolina and speak to our students about job opportunities in 3D maintenance and support. This experience provides the students with invaluable insights into potential career paths and allows them to ask specific questions to help them in their decision-making process.

Duncan-Parnell also provides service and technical support for our Z450 powder-bed 3D printer, a key component of the 3D ThinkLink Creativity Lab at our Chantilly, Virginia, headquarters.

Joe Holmberg, product specialist in Duncan-Parnell’s 3D division accepted the award from YouthQuest Co-Founder and President Lynda Mann at our reception.

Strategic Partner Award

YouthQuest began its relationship with The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, winner of our 2016 Strategic Partner Award, when we piloted our 3D ThinkLink Initiative at their Culmore Character Club summer camp last year. The project provided key learnings and positioned us to broaden our partnership.

We plan to expand delivery of our 3D ThinkLink Initiative to more of Boys & Girls Club kids, including the integration of 3D ThinkLink into their STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) Team initiative, providing more advanced application of our training and technology. We also plan to submit joint grant applications and host a joint fundraising event in the spring of 2017.

Lynda Mann presented the Strategic Partner Award to BGCGW board member John Ruff and Program Director Patrick Leonard.

YouthQuest’s VIP Reception was hosted by Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in Tysons Corner, Virginia, and was sponsored by Visa USA.

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Fun, Fundraising at YouthQuest Golf Tournament

August 19, 2015 stevep News

Golfers at YouthQuest's 10th Annual Challenge at Trump National Golf Club August 10, 2015

“One day of golf will make a difference for America’s at-risk youth all year long.” YouthQuest supporters just proved that’s more than a slogan for us.

Players, sponsors and volunteers turned out in force in August 10 for the 10^th Annual Challenge at Trump National Golf Club.

YouthQuest Co-Founder & President Lynda Mann with Tournament Chairman Bill Hall

“We couldn’t have had a better event to celebrate our 10^th tournament,” said Co-Founder and President Lynda Mann. “The venue, the service, the food, the support of all our participants … We couldn’t have asked for more.”

“During these 10 years, we’ve built a base of sponsors and supporters that understand the importance of our mission to help high school dropouts turn their lives around,” she added.

This year’s tournament will help power the growth of our signature STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education project, the 3D ThinkLink Initiative. Our lessons in 3D design and printing help at-risk kids develop sorely needed critical thinking and problem solving skills. Some of the proceeds from the event will go toward improving our 3D lab. We’re also upgrading our website to make the 3D ThinkLink curriculum available for purchase online.

In addition to the funds raised through tournament sponsorships, our silent auction and raffle were the most successful ever, bringing in more than twice as much as last year.

Twenty-five teams of golfers got the rare opportunity to experience the newly remodeled Championship Course at Trump National Golf Club, Washington, DC, where the Senior PGA Championship will be held in 2017.

The CrossFit PR Star team on the final hole at Trump National — The CrossFit PR Star team on the 18th hole

Many of the faces were familiar, but we were pleased to welcome plenty of new players. This year’s field included more women than ever before. And, as always, we had the help of our generous volunteers, many of them from AOC Solutions.

“People tell us they keep coming back because this is the best charity golf tournament they attend all year,” explained Lynda, citing the high quality of the venue and the services provided.

Tournament Committee Chairman Bill Hall praised Trump National Director of Golf Kevin Morris, event planner Mary Hudgins and event coordinator Vicky Kurasz, along with the caddies and the rest of the staff. Last-minute changes are inevitable for an event as large as this one. The Trump National team took it all in stride and delivered an outstanding experience for everyone.

Former MLB pitcher Pete Schourek is pretty handy with a golf club, too. — Former MLB pitcher Pete Schourek knows his way around the links, too.

The early morning drizzle ended just in time for Golf Entertainer Brad Denton get things started with an amazing trick shot demonstration. The weather remained mild – mercifully unlike a typical mid-August Monday in Washington – allowing the players to enjoy a pleasant day on the course.

Most foursomes were matched with a celebrity player. Our VIP guests included speaker and Emmy-winning broadcaster Jan Fox, Major League Baseball alumni Shawn Camp and Pete Schourek, Washington Redskins alumni coordinator Jerry Olsen and former players Mike Bragg, Brian Carpenter, Ricky Ervins, Pat Fischer, Ken Jenkins, Carl Kammerer, Ron McDole, Kirk Mee and Ted Vactor.

Author John Gilstrap at YouthQuest's 2015 Challenge at Trump National tournament reception — Author John Gilstrap signed his new book at the tournament reception

New York Times bestselling author John Gilstrap was with us again this year, signing copies of his new thriller Against All Enemies during the post-tournament reception. Our summer intern, Bria Toussaint, spoke at the reception about her own nonprofit, GRL-PWR, and Loudoun Youth, two organizations with close ties to YouthQuest.

The 10^th Annual Challenge at Trump National was a success because of the generosity of our sponsors, silent auction donors, players and volunteers. Special thanks go out to tournament photographer Jeff Mauritzen, Copy General for printing the programs and Staybridge Suites in Chantilly for providing Brad Denton’s lodging.

We also are grateful to Michael Garcia and his staff at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in McLean, Va., for hosting our VIP Reception on August 6, at which we recognized Founders Award winner Scott MacDonald, Volunteer of the Year Edna Davis, Community Partner Derrick Campana of Animal Orthocare and 3D ThinkLink Strategic Partner Joe Travez of Prototype Productions, Inc. Learn more about our award winners here.

Make a note now to join us at the 11^th Annual Challenge at Trump National on Monday, August 8, 2016.

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Congratulations to Our 2015 Award Winners

August 12, 2015 stevep News

YouthQuest Co-Founders Lynda Mann and Allen Cage presented awards on August 6 to individuals and organizations whose support has been crucial to our Foundation’s success.

FOUNDERS AWARD

When we considered who should receive our first Founders Award, Scott MacDonald immediately came to mind. He is the clear choice for this special recognition as we prepare to celebrate YouthQuest’s 10^th anniversary.

Scott, the owner and president of RE/MAX Gateway in Chantilly, Virginia, has been with us from the beginning. Not only has he sponsored every one of our events, he’s held his own fundraisers for YouthQuest. He constantly promotes the values and mission of our Foundation.

Scott sets an outstanding example of personal integrity and commitment to community. He has been vital to our organization since the day YouthQuest was founded. We are grateful for his generous support and proud to honor him with the Founders Award.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

Edna Davis is the quintessential volunteer. She takes on the hard jobs and she gets them done with a smile.

As executive assistant to AOC Solutions President and CEO Allen Cage, Edna’s daily to-do list is a long one. Yet she’s always willing to make time for us because she shares Allen’s passion for helping at-risk youth.

Edna is persuasive and tenacious, as you know if you were at last year’s Challenge at Trump National charity tournament where she got 100 percent of the golfers to buy tickets for the 50/50 raffle.

Regardless of the task – whether behind the scenes or on the front lines – Edna is always there to answer to call for YouthQuest.

3D THINKLINK STRATEGIC PARTNER

Prototype Productions CEO Joe Travez with first 3DThinkLink class during Vocational Orientation in 2013 — Joe Travez with first 3DThinkLink class in 2013

Prototype Productions, Inc. in Ashburn, Virginia has hosted tours for our students during every 3D ThinkLink class cycle since the project began in 2013.

These Vocational Orientation visits show the students how 3D design and printing is used in a wide variety of career fields. At PPI, they get to see all the steps in the prototyping process and learn about the importance of innovative thinking and problem solving at work.

CEO Joe Travez makes the experience even more valuable by sharing his personal story with the students. It’s inspirational for these at-risk teens to learn about how he turned away from gangs, embraced education and family, and built a thriving high-tech business from scratch. His message about making smart decisions and going the extra mile to achieve his goals is exactly what our students need to hear.

Because of their consistent support of YouthQuest’s mission, we are pleased to recognize PPI as this year’s 3D ThinkLink Strategic Partner.

COMMUNITY PARTNER

Derrick Campana hosts Vocational Orientation visit to Animal Orthocare in April 2015 — Derrick Campana hosts 3D ThinkLink Vocational Orientation tour

We discovered Derrick Campana through our strategic partner, 3D Systems, because they worked together to invent revolutionary 3D-printed legs for a disabled dog named Derby. (Click here to see a video about Derby.)

We’re fortunate to have Derrick’s Animal Orthocare, one of the few businesses in the world that specializes in orthotics and prosthetics for animals, located just a few miles from our headquarters in Chantilly, Virginia.

Animal Orthocare is a favorite stop on Vocational Orientation tours for our 3D ThinkLink students. During a recent visit, they enjoyed Derrick’s hands-on demonstration of making plaster casts of limbs and saw how he used 3D scanning and printing to create customized parts for prosthetics.

Since then, Derrick has been busy developing new mobility devices for animals. He even traveled to Thailand in July to help two elephants that were maimed by land mines. We can’t wait to learn more when we take the next group of Maryland and DC students to Animal Orthocare for Vocational Orientation in October.

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Awards were presented during YouthQuest’s annual VIP Reception, at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Tysons Corner, Virginia. We thank Fleming’s Operating Partner Michael Garcia and his staff for hosting an outstanding event. Here are more photos from the evening.

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YouthQuest Golf Tournament Raises Funds to Help At-Risk Youth

August 19, 2014 stevep News

Waterfall and clubhouse at Trump National Golf Club, Washington, DC

It was a day of fun and fundraising as about 150 golfers, sponsors and volunteers took part in the Challenge at Trump National Aug. 11.

Tournament Committee Chairman Bill Hall hailed the ninth annual event as “another resounding success.”

Golf Entertainer Brad Denton demonstrates putting techniques at the 2014 Challenge at Trump National — Golf Entertainer Brad Denton shows players how to improve their short game

The tournament generated enough money to ensure that we will achieve our goal of opening a 3D printing lab at our headquarters in Chantilly, Va., by the end of this year, according to YouthQuest Co-Founder and President Lynda Mann. This is an important step in the growth of our 3D ThinkLink Initiative, which helps at-risk teens strengthen their creativity, critical thinking and problem solving skills.

After Golf Entertainer Brad Denton’s demonstration of putting techniques the pros use, the players headed out onto the Championship Course at Trump National Golf Club, Washington, DC. Thanks to General Manager Det Williams, Director of Golf Kevin Morris, event planner Vicky Kurasz and the rest of the excellent Trump National staff, everything ran smoothly on and off the course.

The VIP guests assigned to each team included retired Major League Soccer goalkeeper Mike Ammann, pitchers Pete Schourek and Shawn Camp from Major League Baseball, active and retired members of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brett Kayes and the always-supportive Washington Redskins alumni.

YouthQuest Co-Founder and President Lynda Mann presents Chris Eaton's Volunteer of the Year Award to his mother, Betty Eaton — Betty Eaton with Lynda Mann

The day wrapped up with an award ceremony and reception, where Chris Eaton was remembered with a posthumous Volunteer of the Year Award. Chris, who had served as a volunteer at the tournament every year since 2008, suffered a fatal heart attack while competing in a triathlon a week after last year’s Challenge at Trump National. His mother, Betty Eaton, accepted a plaque honoring him during our VIP Reception on Aug. 7.

Joey Darley of Joey’s Smiles Photography and Scene2bSeen received the 2014 Community Partner Award in recognition of his longstanding support for YouthQuest’s mission.

New York Times bestselling author John Gilstrap joined us at both receptions to sign copies of his new thriller, End Game. As part of the live auction at our 2012 wine event, John offered to put the highest bidder in the book. Ryan and Tre Cage won the bidding and asked John to give the character their mother’s name. So while we know Jolaine Cage as a key YouthQuest volunteer, she’s a highly trained security specialist on the run in End Game.

3D ThinkLink Lab student Daikwon Jones explains his solar robot to Joy Gilstrap at YouthQuest's VIP Reception Aug. 7, 2014 — Daikwon Jones explains his solar-powered robot to Joy Gilstrap at the VIP Reception

We’re grateful to Michael Garcia and his staff at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in McLean, Va., for hosting the VIP Reception again this year. It was a great opportunity for our supporters to meet some of the young people they’re helping through their contributions to YouthQuest.

Five students who were participating in a week of 3D ThinkLink Lab immersion training showed off their creations and told our guests about how they’ve benefited from being involved in our project.

Several new sponsors joined us this year, including Wells Fargo Private Bank, which sponsored Brad Denton’s appearance.

This tournament wouldn’t be possible without the work of our volunteers, led this year by John Bloom. We deeply appreciate the time and effort everyone devoted to making the event a success.

Because of the generosity of our supporters, YouthQuest is doing more than ever to provide academic and vocational development, infrastructure and life-enriching experiences for America’s at-risk youth.

Our next tournament will take place on Monday, August 10, 2015. Sponsors are already signing up and we’re working on plans to make the 10^th annual Challenge at Trump National the best one yet.

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Register Now for the Challenge at Trump National Golf Club

May 20, 2014 stevep News

Golf Entertainer Brad Denton at YouthQuest's 2013 Challenge at Trump National

You’re invited to be part of YouthQuest’s signature fundraising event to support our programs for at-risk youth, the 9th Annual Challenge at Trump National Golf Club, on Monday, August 11.

CLICK HERE for registration and sponsorship level information.

Your support for this tournament is crucial in our Foundation’s mission to help at-risk youth across America become productive citizens through education and employment.

Students with a 3D printer at the DC Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy

Nationally, we provide opportunities for high school dropouts to turn their lives around with projects such as the 3D ThinkLink Initiative. Thanks to our 3D design and printing classes at National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academies, former dropouts from Maryland, South Carolina and the District of Columbia are developing critical thinking and problem solving skills that will help them make better decisions as they enter adulthood.

Funds raised through the golf tournament will help us expand this unique STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education project to include more states and other organizations that work with at-risk youth in underserved communities.

Locally, we support programs that prevent kids from dropping out of school and show them how to become productive citizens. For example, the Foundation has contributed to College Tribe’s tutoring programs to keep young African-American men in Southeast DC on the path to college. We also sponsor the annual Step Up Loudoun Youth Competition, in which students create projects to solve problems facing teens in Loudoun County, Va.

Action at the 2013 Challenge at Trump National

It will be a full day of fun and networking at the world-class Trump National Golf Club, Washington, DC, as our sponsors and guests make valuable face-to-face connections with business and community leaders, as well as local sports figures and other celebrities. Each foursome will be matched up with a celebrity player.

Everyone will enjoy breakfast in the clubhouse and demonstration by Golf Entertainer Brad Denton before a 9:30 am shotgun start on the scenic and challenging course along the Potomac River. Lunch will be served on the course and there will be an awards reception at the Trump National clubhouse to wrap up the day.

In addition, tournament sponsors and VIPs will attend a reception Thursday night, Aug. 7 at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Tysons Corner, Va.

Last year’s Challenge at Trump National was the biggest and best so far. We’re determined to top it this year. You can help make it happen by signing up to be a player, sponsor or volunteer — or by making a donation for the silent auction or player gift bags.

Gary Hoffman: Why I Support YouthQuest

August 1, 2013 stevep News

Gary Hoffman, left, and fellow volunteer Tony Sanderson at YouthQuest's 2010 golf tournament

Throughout his career, Gary Hoffman has met “a lot of really good kids who had just gotten off the right path.”

He’s a longtime YouthQuest Foundation volunteer because he’s seen how the programs we support put at-risk teens back on the path to a better life.

Gary has volunteered at our annual fundraising golf event since 2008. (This year’s Challenge at Trump National Golf Club is on Aug. 12. Click here for details and registration information.)

“I got involved with the golf tournament as a volunteer to support the cause because I knew what great things they did for at-risk youth in the community,” he says.

Gary is an account manager with Temporary Solutions, an Employment Enterprises company based in Manassas, Va. Previously, he worked in higher education business development and the Job Corps, which introduced him to the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy program. In the process, he learned about our Foundation’s partnership with the ChalleNGe program and became an enthusiastic YouthQuest supporter.

He praises the Foundation’s dedication to providing high school dropouts with opportunities to resume their education, and to learn the life skills and values they need to become “healthy, productive adults in the community.”

At-risk kids see the world as “being against them,” Gary explains. “But when they see there is a community out there that supports them and wants to see them succeed, then it gives them a broader view of society and lets them know there is a possibility that they can succeed in life if they just apply themselves and surround themselves with the right people.”

YouthQuest helps them do that not only by making financial contributions, he says, but by “showing them there are people in the community that stand behind them and support their positive growth and development.”

“YouthQuest opens their eyes and gives them a glimpse of what’s possible,” says Gary. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to become a part of it and gladly volunteer my time.”

If you would like to become a volunteer, contact us at info@youthquestfoundation.org or call (703) 234-4633.