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Boys & Girls Clubs of America names Marquette first national educational partner
Dwyane Wade signs on as spokesman
Marquette and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America teamed up in a new partnership to award scholarships to winners of the club Youth of the Year awards, presented to kids who overcome daunting obstacles to contribute to their schools, families and communities.
Former Marquette basketball player Dwyane Wade came to campus to promote the partnership and lead a basketball clinic for 50 Boys & Girls Clubs kids. He wants to help young people from urban settings achieve success. “I’ve teamed up with a lot of great people,” he said, including Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. “But teaming up with Marquette and the Boys & Girls Clubs surpassed a dream for me and my foundation and family to continue to do everything in our power to change the world for the better—one kid at a time, if that’s what it takes.”
An ongoing effort
The four-year scholarships are part of the university’s ongoing effort to give talented students with financial need access to a Marquette education. The first scholarships will be awarded to up to three students who enroll as freshmen in the fall of 2010.
When fully realized, a $40 million endowment will fund 10 national and five local full-tuition scholarships annually for Boys & Girls Clubs members.
Expressing her enthusiasm for the partnership, Boys & Girls Clubs President and CEO Roxanne Spillet said she hopes it “will become a model for other institutions of higher education.”
Giving back to the community
Wade, who is a spokesman for the scholarship program, grew up in a disadvantaged neighborhood in Chicago and said it was always his dream to be “the guy that comes back and makes a difference.” He called the scholarship partnership a perfect match for the Wade’s World Foundation. “We don’t try to start over,” he said. “We find a blueprint and we stick to it ... and do anything we can to give kids hope and belief in themselves.” — JMM
Go behind the scenes
Boys & Girls Clubs of Milwaukee alumnus Melvin McElrath won an Urban Scholar award and is a junior majoring in biomechanical engineering. Being chosen to give the invocation at a luncheon with Dwyane Wade, he says, was an honor and pretty scary. McElrath shares his story in this video.
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