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Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland
SAVE
THIS DATE
18th Annual
Salute to Youth
Dinner & Benefit
Auction
Featuring 3-time Olympian, and Gold Medalist
Dominique
Dawes
Saturday, May 31 , 2008
6:00 - 9:00 pm
Greek Orthodox Church of the
Ascension
Oakland, CA
What:19th
Annual "Salute to Youth" Dinner & Benefit Auction – Boys & Girls
Clubs of Oakland’s largest annual fund raising event features
3-time Olympian, and Gold Medalist Dominique Dawes who will draw
from her past experience as a member of the US Women’s
Gymnastics team to bring home the message—Success is a
Journey, NOT a Destination—a real treat for our audience
as the 2008 Summer Olympic
Games appear on the horizon.
Dominique started in gymnastics at the age of 6, began
competing at the age of 10, and
burst into the international spotlight in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain,
where she was the first African American gymnast to ever qualify to an
Olympic Games. At these Games she
and her teammates captured a bronze medal. Since then Dominique has won more
National Championship medals than any other athlete,
male or female, since 1963, as
well as numerous World Championship medals. One of Dominique’s
greatest feats came when she
swept all four events and won the
All Around title at the 1994 National
Championships. At the 1996 Olympic Games Dominique and the U.S. Gymnastics team
made history and stole the hearts of Americans with their team gold medal.
At those same Games, “Awesome
Dawesome” (as she is known by her coach and teammates)
became the first African-American
to win an individual gymnastics medal with her bronze on
the floor. Following her triumphs at the Olympics, Dominique
appeared on the Wheaties cereal box, performed in music videos
by Prince and Missy Elliott, and acted on a number of television
shows. Dominique has also appeared on Broadway in the hit
musical “Grease,” where
she played the part of Patty
Simcox.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland’s mission is to develop
our community's youth into positive contributors to society.
All proceeds from the Salute to Youth gala will directly
benefit the young people served by the Club. To that end,
the event will provide its patrons with the opportunity to
mix and mingle with local celebrities, enjoy exciting live
musical entertainment, vie for fabulous live and silent auction
items (once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, trips, and many
other premium items and services), feast on delectable cuisine,
and honor BGCO’s high achieving students.
When: Saturday,
May 31, 2008 - 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Where: The
Greek Orthodox Church of the
Ascension - 4700
Lincoln Avenue, Oakland
Who: 300 – 500
members of the business and philanthropic communities will
have the opportunity to spend an evening with some of Oakland’s
finest youth and local celebrities.
Why: The
goal for this fun yet purposeful
event is to raise funds and
connect the organization to new
friends in order to help sustain quality after school and year-round youth development
programs and activities for 2,000 deserving girls and boys this year
and into the future.
BGCO’s
student-members are personified
by outstanding new 2008 Youth
of the Year Nicholas Gordon. Nick attends Oakland Technical High
School and will graduate this
year. He is considering both Wilberforce
University and Texas Southern University with intent to become a Psychologist.
Nick has been a member of BGCO
for 5 years. He is a top-notch
role model for his 6-to-17 year-old
fellow Club members—contributing
over 160 volunteer hours last
year alone. Nick has been a big
help in the development and implementation
of effective youth programs and
activities within his Clubhouse (the Leonard J. Meltzer Branch
in Western Oakland). Nick is also very active in his church
and maintains Honors-level classes at school.
How to Help: Please
contact Vicki Cosgrove at vcosgrove@bgcoakland.org
or 510-444-8211
x 13 for sponsorship and ticket information.
All proceeds from our event will benefit
the young people served by
Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland.
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