Jeff Goncalves, Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield Program Director and Ridgefield Tigers Keystone Club Advisor, is the recipient of Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Keystone Advisor of the Year!
RIDGEFIELD, CT- August 20, 2020 – The Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield’s high school character and leadership program, the Ridgefield Tigers Keystone Club, has once again received national recognition from Boys & Girls Clubs of America. At this year’s National Keystone Conference, the Ridgefield Tigers Keystone Club won three national program awards. In addition, and most impressively, BGCR’s Program Director and the Ridgefield Tigers Keystone Club Advisor, Jeff Goncalves, won the National Keystone Advisor of the Year award, after being nominated by the teens in the Ridgefield Tigers Keystone Club. The award is presented annually to an advisor who inspires and challenges teens to develop leadership skills to make a lasting impact on the world. Previously, in 2018, Jeff was recognized as Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Torch Club Advisor of the Year – Torch Club is the Club’s middle school character and leadership program.
“Over the past decade, the Club has established one of the most recognized teen programs in the country, and Jeff has built upon that, developing them into the dynamic programs they are today. He continues to bring our leadership programs and the Club to new levels. We are grateful every day for the hard work and dedication he puts into making the Club the special place it is and we are thrilled he is receiving the recognition he deserves,” explained Mike Flynn, Chief Executive Officer at the Club. “He is an amazing mentor to thousands of Club kids, and we are lucky to have him in Ridgefield”
Jeff and Keystone member, Hailey Robson, were selected to serve on the 2020 National Keystone Conference Steering Committee back in December. As a part of the Committee, they traveled to Boys & Girls Club of America’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia for a planning weekend with 10 other Keystone members and their Advisors from Boys & Girls Clubs across the country, in addition to participating in monthly conference calls and completing assignments leading up to the Conference. The conference was set to take place in Washington, DC, but was moved to a Virtual Conference that took place last month.
“Jeff, Hailey, and the entire steering committee persevered through a challenging situation and pulled together an amazing conference that connected over 2,500 teens and their advisors from Boys & Girls Clubs all across the country, and even overseas! We are so proud of both of them and could not ask for better representation of our Club,” said Kristin Goncalves, Associate Executive Director at the Club.
year’s Virtual Conference, Ridgefield Tigers Keystone Club won first place (best overall) in the National Project (Think. Feel. Do. Emotional Wellness) category and third place in the core areas of Academic Success and Community Outreach. They were also runners-up for the National Keystone Club of the Year. With the addition of this year’s Best Overall National Project Award, the Ridgefield Tigers Keystone Club has won 18 awards in the past nine years. Since 2011, the Ridgefield Tigers Keystone Club has won 13 National Programmatic Awards and 5 Northeast Regional Programmatic Awards. There are 4,800 Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide, and all Keystone Clubs are eligible for these awards.
For more information on the Ridgefield Tigers Keystone Club, please contact Jeff Goncalves at jgoncalves@bgcridgefield.org or 203-438-8821 ext.19.
About the Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield
The Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield is a fully dedicated youth development facility. The mission of the Boys & Girls Club of Ridgefield is to inspire and enable all young people to reach their full potential as caring, productive, and responsible citizens. The Ridgefield Club has been serving the community since 1936.
Each day at the Club we provide youth development programming in five core areas: Sports, Fitness & Recreation, the Arts, Education & Career Preparation, Health & Life Skills, and Character & Leadership Development. Members of the Club participate in activities in our five core areas that encourage increased learning, improved fitness, positive decision-making, creativity, leadership, and community service. As part of the National Boys & Girls Club movement, we are able to utilize high quality programs grounded in years of research. Programming activities are scheduled each day and are free to all Club members.