Tribal Youth invited to National Keystone Conference
(February 2011) First Nation Boys & Girls Club of The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina sent its Keystone Club, Community Warriors, to the 2011 National Keystone Conference in Orlando, Florida Thursday, March 3 until Sunday, March 6.
The club received its invitation in January 2011. In 2009 Community Warriors attended the Regional Conference for being a Basic Keystone Club, this year will be their first time at the National Conference. “I am very, very excited that my students were able to attend this conference, it is an overwhelming feeling when you know your students are receiving an opportunity that is not afforded to them very often,” said First Nation Boys & Girls Club Manager Tangelina Locklear-Jarry, “they have worked hard and deserve it.”
The purpose of the conference was for all of the Silver and Gold Keystone Clubs throughout the country to come together and share ideas and communicate issues. They were involved in brainstorming sessions and had the opportunity to go to Disney World. Eight students; Kelsey Hammond, Indian Smith, Tangelina Jones, Angelina Jones, Jacob Kerns, Justin Liles, Rashawn Smith and Keenan Davis will be attended the conference. “I am proud of our youth and their accomplishments,” commented
Chairman of the Lumbee Tribe Purnell Swett, “the skills they are developing today will make them even better leaders of tomorrow.”
In order to qualify as a silver Keystone Club, Community Warriors have to be between the ages of 14 and 18, and fulfill three focus areas which include academic success, career preparation, and community service. The youth are responsible for holding weekly meetings to plan their projects to meet the silver keystoning charter criteria. They have adopted a two-mile span of Singletary Church Road in which they provide trash pick-up four times out of the year. In addition to their community service, they volunteered at Sacred Pathways in Pembroke during Christmas to help distribute gift boxes to the underprivileged community members. Community Warriors also tutor younger students at the Lumbee Boys & Girls Club at a minimum of two hours each week to satisfy the academic success requirement. Furthermore, they have increased their knowledge of how to access higher education by participating in the college admission process during the 2010 Youth Leadership Conference.
For the third focus area, Community Warriors had the opportunity to be exposed to a working environment by touring the Lumbee Tribal Housing Complex where they learned the different departmental functions as a tool toward career preparedness. The youth participated in World Wide Day of Play as part of the Keystone national service initiative. The purpose of the day was to get parents and guardians more involved with the Lumbee Boys & Girls Club.
The Boys & Girls Club of America Keystone Program believes that cultivation of good character and effective leadership supports the development of productive, responsible and caring citizens, and fosters successful high school graduation, broader employment opportunities and lifelong civic engagement. For more information on the Lumbee Boys & Girls Clubs please call, Onnette Jacobs at 910-522-5192.
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