Tuscan Brands Youth of the Year
Established in 1947, Youth of the Year is BGCA’s premier recognition program for Club members, promoting service to Club, community and family, academic success, strong moral character, life goals, and poise and public speaking ability. The program is a year-round tool for fostering young people’s character, personal growth, and leadership qualities.
Local Clubs recognize members age 14 to 18 as Youth of the Month winners and select a Youth of the Year, who then participates in state competitions. State winners each receive a $1,000 scholarship and compete on the regional level and then onto the national level. The National Youth of the Year receives up to an additional $50,000 scholarship and is installed by the President of the United States.
The Youth of the Year program is a merit program that develops our youth and helps them reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2024 TUSCAN BRANDS YOUTH OF THE YEAR SARAH BELLAHROSSI!
The Artisan Hotel Ballroom was brimming with Club supporters as we celebrated our four outstanding candidates for Youth of the Year – each of whom has made us extremely proud throughout the entirety of the process, truly exemplifying what it means to “Be Great”.
We’d like to commend Sarah, along with Erin Devine, Andrew Hardjosuwito and Elayna Merriam (along with their supportive families), for the hard work, dedication, and transparency they’ve exhibited in sharing their personal journeys with us along the way.
We’d like to thank: our judges, our mentors, and the most gracious of volunteers for going above and beyond to ensure that this year’s competition was fruitful for all of our candidates regardless of the outcome.
To our event sponsor, Tuscan Brands, and the generous donors who provided each of our three youths with scholarship prizes – thank you for everything you’ve done to assist the candidates in continuing on their paths to GREAT futures - we can't wait to see what lies ahead for these outstanding young adults!
Meet our 2024 Tuscan Brands Youth of the Year, Sarah Bellahrossi!
Sarah has been a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem for 4 years as she originally joined to swim. Sarah joined our swim team and on the day of her last meet, she chose to stay. Sarah was met with immense kindness when she joined the Club which is why she chose to stay as part of our Keystone program. Sarah brings such light wherever she goes and is an advocate for spreading kindness and acceptance at all costs. Sarah is a true advocate of the Club and will take the stage at the State competition in May.
Congratulations and best of luck, Sarah!
Meet the 2024 Candidates!
