The Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula (BGCP), a local Menlo Park chapter of the Boys and Girls Club of America, hosted its 2017 Youth of the Year event earlier this month. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg kicked off the night with a reflection on resilience in the community and the work BGCP is doing with local students. Enrique Salem, Managing Director, Bain Capital Ventures, participated as a judge for the event.

After hearing speeches from the five nominees, judges selected Rebeca Solares, a junior at Menlo-Atherton High School, as the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula 2017 Youth of the Year.

The Boys & Girls Club of America’s mission is “to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.”

The Youth of the Year program has been the organization’s premier recognition program since 1947, celebrating the extraordinary achievements of Club members. Each year, one exceptional Club member, who serves as both an exemplary ambassador for Boys & Girls Club youth and as a strong voice for all of the nation’s young people, is selected to be the National Youth of the Year. The journey to being named National Youth of the Year begins locally and progresses to the state, regional and national level.