Corey Hurst is a member of the Youth Volunteer Corps, participates regularly in community service projects and was January's Youth of Distinction. He was chosen as one of the YVC's Youth of the Year nominees and faced strong competition from the other two nominees who are great students, participate in many extra-circular activities and have been nominated for the award in past years. However, Corey is also a great student and excels in many areas. Not only does he contribute to YVC, but he is also involved with JROTC and is a member of the Drama Club at the Freshmen Learning Center. He confidently and truthfully answered questions from the judges during his interview and was chosen as the Youth of the Year finalist to represent his Club, the Teen Center. He will go on to compete against winners from the Boys & Girls Clubs Sebastian and South County Branches for the overall Youth of the Year title.

Austin Cordero was chosen as the January Artist of the Month for the Boys & Girls Clubs' Teen Center. Austin enjoys drawing and using his creativity to express himself and create unique pieces of art. He took ownership of an art project incorporating the YVC logo and created an outstanding piece of art.

Stephen Ronan was selected as the January Youth of the Month for the Youth Volunteer Corps. He is extremely dedicated to YVC, completing 150 service hours in just four months. That is more than many teens complete in one year. Stephen was elected President of the Keystone Club and took an active role in the program, naming it "The Key to YVC." He is also a weekly participant in the Job Ready, Triple Play and SMART Moves programs at the Boys & Girls Clubs Teen Center. Stephen will be recognized with the Gold Volunteer Service Award at the Youth of the Year banquet on February 22.

Courtney Thomas was selected as the January Student of the Month for her hard work in the classroom. Courtney is dedicated to improving her grades and actively participates in Power Hour, a homework-help and tutoring program, on Mondays and Wednesdays. She also does her homework on Friday, a day when most kids are celebrating the coming weekend. All of Courtney's hard work has paid off, as she received outstanding grades on her last report card!

If you are a teen interested in volunteering or joining the Teen Center, please call (772) 778-7442.

YVC projects for the month of February:

PALS (elementary school tutoring): every Monday-Wednesday

2/24: Turtle Trek

2/24: Step-Up