Denzel Washington has long been committed to supporting underserved communities as the spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, an organization that provides life developing programs for young people. He was a member of the Boys & Girls Club as a kid, and became the programās national spokesman in 1992. He has also served on the organizationās national Board of Governors since 1995.
During its annual gala in Washington, DC. on October 29, Washington introduced Whitney Stewart, the club’s National Youth of The Year winner.
Stewart is a University of Pennsylvania freshman who served as the president of her local club’s teen leadership group in Florida where she grew up. She’s also on the organizationās National Teen Advisory Board.
Stewart’s year-long journey to receiving the organization’s top honor began after her local Club selected her as their Youth of the Year representative, which then progressed to state and regional competitions, which culminated during this week’s ceremony featuring youth from five regions. Now she plans to pursue a career as an attorney in the U.S. Air Force, followed by a career in politics and academia.
During an interview with The Huffington Post, Washington expressed his enthusiasm for naming Stewart as this yearās winner.
āIām proud of this young lady, Iām proud of all the young people that I had the opportunity to meet over the years at the Boys & Girls Club,ā Washington said. “And if in any way, I was any kind of influence then Iām happy for that. But just as equally, Iām just proud of what theyāre doing, and I have the opportunity to pass the baton — so it is now in Whitneyās hands and in their hands.ā
For her part, Stewart says she’s ādetermined and focusedā to continue her community service. āThatās going to be something thatās always going to be a constant in my life,ā Stewart said to HuffPost. āItās so important to build the people around you up, so that they can be successful to. Whatās the value of being successful if you canāt build others up to be successful themselves?ā
Washington also shared some of the important life lessons that he has learned since joining the Boys & Girls Club -ā which includes keeping things āsimple.ā
āLife is not as complicated as we make it out to be. Weāre not as important as we think we are,ā he said. āThe lessons Iāve learned and the things that I recall is just lessons of humility, working hard, having goals, and trying to achieve those goals.ā
In addition to Stewart being awarded $145,000 in academic scholarships, this yearās Youth of the Year participants will awarded more than $1 million in scholarships.