Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast District 
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Exchange helps members to develop leadership, networking, and organizational skills that contribute to success in business, family and personal endeavors.

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Youth Programs

America's young people are its most precious natural resource. This is why, for many years, Exchange has sponsored an impressive selection of activities designed to benefit and encourage our nation's youth. Not surprising, many of these richly rewarding programs are among the most popular and well supported of all Exchange Club endeavors.

Exchange's youth projects include the Youth of the Month/Year Award, the Young Citizenship Award, the A.C.E. Award and EXCEL Clubs. For more information on how to implement these projects, see the Youth Projects Guide. For more information on purchasing youth project supplies, see the Exchange Marketplace.

Youth of the Month/Year Award

One of the most popular of Exchange's youth projects, the Youth of the Month/Year Award recognizes industrious high school students who attain high levels of scholastic achievement community involvement and leadership. This proven program not only rewards outstanding young people, but also provides an incentive for other youngsters to strive for equally high levels of achievement.

Cooperation from school authorities and youth leaders is easily attainable. As a result of the favorable publicity which the program often generates, the sponsoring Exchange Club enhances its own community image.

Once a Youth of the Month program has been successfully implemented, the groundwork for conducting an annual Youth of the Year competition is already in place. Selection of the Youth of the Year is simply made from among the club's Youth of the Month recipients for that school year. Then, the club's Youth of the Year advances to district competition, and ultimately, an opportunity to vie for the prestigious National Youth of the Year Award.

Specially designed plaques and certificates, along with a detailed Youth of the Month/Year information guide and application, can be obtained from National Headquarters.

While the recipients are selected by classroom teachers, the Exchange Club is responsible for providing the awards and promoting the program in the community.

Young Citizenship Award

Exchange's Young Citizenship Award honors pre-high school students who daily demonstrate good citizenship both at school and at home. It does not necessarily seek to salute star scholastic or athletic performers. Instead, the program is designed to recognize and encourage youngsters who, although perhaps not at the head of their class, are honest, hard-working, helpful and fair.In practice, the Young Citizenship Award provides class-room teachers with an effective tool to further motivate promising students. It also provides Exchangites with an enjoyable opportunity to supply the encouragement that can be so vitally important in shaping the characters of youngsters at an impressionable time in their lives.

A.C.E. Award

This program recognizes high school students who have made a dramatic change in their attitude and performance sometime during their high school years. These changes have enabled the students to overcome their adversities and prepare for graduation. Hence the award's name, A.C.E., which is an acronym for Accepting the Challenge of Excellence. The A.C.E. Award may be presented to several deserving students over the course of a school year, or limited to one especially outstanding recipient. The scope of the project is determined by the sponsoring Exchange Club. Clubs may also submit their top A.C.E. Award winner to the district competition. Winners at the district level then have an opportunity to compete for the new National A.C.E. Award. Additional information on the A.C.E. Award can be obtained from National Headquarters or the Youth Projects Guide.

EXCEL Clubs

Each EXCEL Club is sponsored and mentored by a local Exchange Club. All high school students are welcome to get involved. EXCEL Clubs can be formed in any secondary school, including public, private, parochial and vocational schools. The two basic requirements are to recruit young people who are willing to take on the challenge of becoming charter members of a youth organization, and the sponsoring Exchange Club must have the dedication to advise and guide the EXCEL Club to fruition.

EXCEL Clubs are groups of high school students dedicated to improving their schools, communities and country through volunteerism. As members of EXCEL Clubs serve their communities, they also develop valuable leadership and networking skills. EXCEL Club members learn by doing. The students, with the help of a school advisor, lead the club, decide on how to serve their school and community and then get actively involved in doing just that. For more information on how to start an EXCEL Club, see EXCEL CLUBS
  © 2008 Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast District.