Flight Museum Fun
Boys & Girls Club celebration sends graduates off to college in style
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas gathered at The Frontiers of Flight Museum for a night of gratitude for sponsors and donors at the 6th Annual TOPPS (Threshold of Opportunities) Celebration. It was also the perfect time to send off graduating seniors of the organization.
With most of the Boys & Girls club graduates being the first in their family to attend college, this special night that brings together big donors and the kids who benefit from their generosity is always a memorable one.
Guests —including Karen and Tom Falk, John and Kathy Wesley, Veronica Roper, George Watson and Michele Wheeler —mixed and mingled with kids and supporters until the dinner bell rang. When guests were seated, it was time to enjoy a meal while listening to an impressive lineup of speakers.
Featured speaker Idris Akinpelu, an alumnus of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas and the 2006 State of Texas Youth of the Year, gave a moving speech about how the organization kept him on the right path.
Idris attended the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas from age six until graduating from Townview Law Magnet High School. He went on to graduate from Cornell University and the University of Texas School of Law and is currently an assistant district attorney in the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office.
Cecilia Garza, the 2014 State of Texas Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year, also addressed the crowd. Garza is a member of the Boys & Girls Club located at Uplift Williams Preparatory in Dallas and humbly accepted her award that celebrates youth who have overcome enormous odds and demonstrated exceptional character.
Before the program came to an end, about 80 graduating seniors were presented with a gift box for college. And what can be more essential than a laptop when preparing to head off to school? An anonymous challenge grant paid for the students' new computers.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas has a mission to enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.