FOX 10 Phoenix: NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award Winner Dak Prescott Gives Back to Local Community

This video was originally posted on FOX 10: Phoenix. Be sure to visit their channel for the full video.

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley was honored to be the host of the Walter Payton Man of the Year event. This leadership and community stewardship program perfectly aligns with the values of Boys & Girls Clubs.

Eleven Youth of the Year candidates, the most outstanding teen in each of our Clubs joined the morning festivities. Like the Walter Payton Man of the Year nominees, they have dedicated themselves to school, the Club, and improving their communities.

Thanks to the NFL, all of our kids, and the players had the opportunity to see the transformed Teen Room space they are leaving as a legacy! We are looking forward to dedicating that room so hundreds of teens can enjoy it!

“Super Bowls are important economic and tourism drivers for a state, but today’s event shows the true heart of the NFL and the commitment that these players and their teams have to young people. These youth are the future and you are modeling for them the importance of volunteerism and caring for your community. Thank you.” Marcia Mintz stated during Friday’s MOY event.

FOX 10: NFL stars surprise Arizona kids with Super Bowl LVII tickets

 

This story was so powerful, it was picked up by several news outlets;

  1. FOX 10 Youtube Channel: NFL stars surprise Arizona kids with Super Bowl LVII tickets
  2. 12 News: NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winner Dak Prescott gives back to local community
  3. Yahoo News: NFL stars surprise Arizona kids with Super Bowl LVII tickets
  4. AOL: ‘She’d be crying’: Dak Prescott honors late mother after winning NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award
  5. Dallas Cowboys: Dak Motivated to “Do Even More” After Award
  6. Arizona Sports: Prescott wins award, gives back to community the next day

 

 

Panda Express: Boys Girls Clubs of the Valley Partner to Open Panda Cares Center of Hope in Chandler

Be sure to visit Panda Express or Panda Cares for more information.

WHO: Panda Express local employees, Chandler Compadres Club kids and staff

WHAT: Panda Cares Center of Hope is a newly renovated space within our Club designed to deliver more joy, education, and critical social-emotional development to local communities. Project Learn, the platform that unites each Center of Hope, is a holistic strategy intended to reinforce and enhance what youth learn during the school day, while creating experiences that invite them to fall in love with learning. Rooted in social-emotional development, this program is based on research showing that students do better in school when they spend their non-school hours engaged in fun and academically beneficial activities. Our Panda Cares Center of Hope was designed to meet the needs of our Club members, and create spaces for them to learn, engage, and grow.

WHEN: Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 4:15PM

WHERE: Chandler Compadres Branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley
300 E. Chandler Blvd., Chandler, AZ 85225

CONTACT: Cassidy Campana, Vice President of Communications (602) 770-6014, cassidy.campana@bgcaz.org
Sonia Smith, Branch Director, (480) 899-8302

About Panda Express

On a mission to inspire better lives, Panda Express® is the largest Asian dining concept in the U.S. Family-owned and operated since 1983 by co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew and Peggy Cherng, Panda Express is best known as a trailblazer for creating a wide variety of industry-first recipes, including its best seller the Original Orange Chicken® and award-winning Honey Walnut Shrimp™, which have defined the category of authentic American Chinese cuisine. Each dish at Panda Express, including the Wok Smart® selections, is thoughtfully crafted with quality ingredients and inspired by bold Chinese flavors and culinary principles. The restaurant brand has more than 2,400 locations and has introduced American Chinese cuisine to twelve international countries.

Powered by this global family of associates, Panda Cares® the philanthropic arm of Panda Express, has raised more than $282 million and dedicated countless volunteer hours in bettering the health and education for over 13 million youths, as well as supporting communities in need since 1999. In 2020, the organization established the Panda Cares Scholars Program to provide the necessary funding,- academic support and leadership development to help high school and college students learn, lead and thrive towards a bright future. For more information, visit pandaexpress.com or pandacares.org.

Daily Independent: Glendale Boys & Girls Branch Among First to Participate in New Behavioral Health Program

Be sure to visit Daily Independent for more information.

Kept home during the early days of the COVID pandemic for their safety, kids are facing a new need.

Trends show that kids are trying to make up social and emotional shortcomings fueled by isolation during lockdown.

In its 2021 State of Mental Health in America report, Mental Health America noted that youth between the ages of 11 and 17 were more likely than any other age group to experience moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety and depression. More locally, child abuse calls in Arizona are up 10% compared to this time last year, according to the Arizona Department of Child Safety. The agency reported more than 22,000 cases of child abuse and neglect from January to June 2021, resulting in over 14,000 placements into out of-home care. “In my personal and professional opinion, (kindergarten through first-grade students) probably have the most challenges coming up in the next four to five years,” said Eric Watkins, branch director at the Swift Kids Branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley, located at 6420 W. Maryland Ave., in Glendale. Watkins has served at the Swift branch for five years, which includes before and after the pandemic.

“The older kids — teens — their two years of missing out were some of those key teens transitional periods: first dances at the school, the football games; those larger socialization events, as well as ‘hey let’s go hang out at the mall.’” To approach this issue, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley, partnering with Terros Health, will provide behavioral health interventions and social-emotional learning programs to alleviate stress among youth in local Clubs. There are almost 22,000 Club members across the Valley as of June of this year, 46% of whom live below the poverty level, according to the organization. The new program, “Whole Child Approach,” is made possible through a funding collaboration between the Arizona Department of Education and three Arizona-based private foundations — The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, the Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation, and Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

The Swift branch is among the first to participate in the three-year pilot program, which hopes to expand to 10 total Clubs by the end of 2023 and, eventually, to all 30 Clubs. Behavioral health technicians and therapists will be available to the branches to help alleviate social and emotional stress among children and teens disproportionately impacted by COVID. Additional emphasis will be placed on those under the supervision of the Arizona Department of Child Safety and families experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.

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Economic Impact Report Underscores BGCAZ Positive Outcomes on Youth, Community

ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT UNDERSCORES BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE VALLEY’S
POSITIVE OUTCOMES ON YOUTH, COMMUNITY

Every dollar invested in Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley from 2020-2021 returned $15.60 in benefits in Maricopa County

PHOENIX (Sept. 30, 2022) – From improved high school graduation rates to reduced teen pregnancy, food insecurity and underage drinking, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley is making a positive, measurable impact on youth and the greater community.

These are the findings from a study by the L. William Seidman Research Institute at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. The study draws from primary and secondary survey research and operational data supplied by the Clubs’ Phoenix office from July 2020 through June 2021.

For every dollar invested in operations and capital expenditures during that time, the Clubs conservatively delivered $15.60 in benefits in Maricopa County.

“Giving back to our kids has never been more important, considering the trauma, learning deficits, and mental health challenges they experienced during and coming out of the pandemic,” said Marcia Mintz, president and CEO of BGCAZ. “The ASU Economic Impact report gives context to the larger impact Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley is having on families and ultimately on the community. Working parents rely on Clubs for care, and this in turn has a positive impact on our economy, not just the families who BGCAZ serves. This social return on investment (SROI) reports paints a more complete picture of the outcomes and outputs that we have as an agency and an employer.”

As a mid-size employer, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley invested more than $15 million in after-school and summer enrichment programs and operations to serve 13,000+ K-12 youth in 2020-2021. The total value of monetized socio-economic benefits for Club members, their families, and the Maricopa County economy exceeded $236 million.

Among the positive outcomes:

  • A $10.3 million economic gain in lifetime earnings over 40 years, thanks to improved graduation rates;
  • A nearly $9 million estimated saving in adverse food insecurity outcomes;
  • Up to $3.9 million in cost savings due to lower teenage pregnancy and motherhood costs;
  • Lifetime non-smoker savings of almost $8 million;
  • $13.4 million in lifetime enhanced physical activity benefits;
  • An enhanced opportunity for parents to work, contributing $166.6 million to Arizona’s economy in FY2021 alone.

…

Read the Full Press Release (PDF)

 

Frontdoors Media: Valley Student Received $100K Scholarship from Beyoncé and Jay-Z

 

Thank you to the Valley of the Sun United Way for your support of quality after school programs at our BGCAZ Clubs. Learn More