from staff
Rakita Dozier from the S.A. Hull Boys & Girls Club “Team Up” was announced as the 2008 Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida Youth of the Year Feb. 28.
In a room of almost 200 guests last week, 16-year-old Dozier was overwhelmed with joy when guest emcee Ch. 4 news anchor Jennifer Waugh announced her as the winner of this year’s Youth of the Year award for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida.
Dozier is a three-year member of the S.A. Hull Boys & Girls Club TEAM UP, and she was recognized for her work in becoming a role model for younger members of the Club and becoming a tremendous help to the staff.
Guest speaker at the Youth of the Year event was the 2007-08 National Youth of the Year, Demetrice Tuttle. A six-year member of the West Georgia Boys & Girls Club, Tuttle has become a young leader for the members and has headed various community rallies.
Youth of the Year is a national program administered by Boys & Girls Clubs of America that recognizes individual club members’ exemplary character, superior leadership, academic achievement and outstanding service to their clubs and communities.
A sophomore at Ribault High School, Dozier is actively involved in all her honors classes and is a member of the “Divas of Fidelity” step team. After graduation, she plans to attend college and major in education or nursing.
“Helping people is my passion. I would go to the boundaries to help someone, from men to women, kids and animals,” said Dozier. “The Boys & Girls Club means a lot to me. The staff is so inspiring, and one day I hope to work with the Club.”
As a Youth of the Year winner, Dozier will receive a $2,000 scholarship made available by The Grune Family Foundation and The Jackson-Shaw Company.
Receiving $1,000 scholarships, made possible by The Jackson-Shaw Company, will be the seven nominees who competed against Dozier for Youth of the Year. Those nominees included: Duane Brady, St. Augustine Boys & Girls Club; Imari Bratcher, Laurence F. Lee Boys & Girls Club; Ashlee Hester, Beaches Boys & Girls Club; Keshawn Lenton, Woodland Acres Boys & Girls Club; Luis Cruz, Victory Pointe Boys & Girls Club; Krysten Watson, Miller Boys & Girls Club; Desiree Felton, Fernandina Beach Boys & Girls Club.
The winner and nominees were also given backpacks filled with educational supplies and hygienic items.
Dozier will now compete against other Boys & Girls Club members for the Florida Youth of the Year title. The state competition will take place in Tallahassee next week.
If she wins at the state level, Dozier will compete in the regional competition, with five regional winners selected to compete for the national honor in Washington, D.C., where President Bush will announce the National Youth of the Year at a White House ceremony later this year. In addition, the national winner will receive a $10,000 scholarship from the Reader’s Digest Foundation, sponsor of the program since its inception in 1947.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida is an affiliate of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and has played an integral role in Jacksonville for 45 years, providing daily after-school programs to nearly 1,300 young people at 12 facilities in Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns counties.
According to a recent Harris Survey of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, more than 50 percent of alumni said the Club “saved their life.” According to the U.S. Department of Education and Justice, students who attend quality after-school programs demonstrate better academic performance, more positive behavior and better school attendance than those who do not. They also develop greater expectations for the future.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida offers time-tested and nationally recognized programs and activities in five distinct areas: character and leadership, education and careers, health and life skills, the arts and sports, fitness and recreation. For more information about the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, visit www.bgcnf.org or call 396-4435.v