Guest Contributors: Adam Giroux, Loveland-Pulliam Assistant Club Director and Noah Kaspari, Youth Development Specialist at Loveland-Pulliam Club / Seasonal Program Lead at Truscott Club.
Our future is bright with the next generation of leaders. For the first time in 7 years, the Keystone Club from Loveland-Pulliam Club, the Chillstones, attended the 58th annual National Keystone Conference in Chicago. Keystone is a BGCA Leadership and Community Service program for youth ages 14-18. To qualify to attend the conference, our group completed several in-Club projects to support academic success, teen recruitment and retention, career exploration and development, and fundraising. They also had to complete a cumulative 200 hours of service in and outside of Club.
Connecting as a Club, both with ourselves and other BGC organizations, was a large focal point of the trip. As much as we planned for these connections, watching our teens connect with themselves as individuals was extra special. We witnessed our group rely on each other to navigate traveling without their families for the first time, taking Instagram photos for each other, and overcoming fears of escalators.
Creating long-lasting friendships, opportunities and memories also stands out as a big takeaway. We gained inspiration from all the amazing projects other Keystone Clubs completed over the year to grow the impact in our community, and our whole group got to experience trying deep dish pizza for the first time together. The teens also utilized the financial knowledge gained from Nancy Patton and Canvas Credit Union in a breakout session on financial literacy, winning the competition and a prize of Starbucks gift cards.
Captivating those around us to collaborate and grow our impact in the world was the focus on the final day. This was highlighted and exemplified by our collaboration with BATA Sole, a local nonprofit. We cleaned shoes, stepped out of our comfort zones and completed leadership-building activities together.
In all of our experience working with BGCLC, this was definitely one of the most rewarding and impactful experiences we have had. The Chillstones are excited to bring our sister sites’ Keystone groups along for the ride at the 59th National Keystone Conference. Until then, we will continue to Connect, Create and Captivate. Thank you Tellus Outdoor for helping us raise $2,000 to help send youth leaders to the BGCA Keystone Conference in Chicago.
