Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester Names Cristy Lopez-Duarte 2014 Youth of the Year

Club also honors Fox Lane freshman with Chris Cutri Award for perseverance

The Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester (BGCNW) honored its 2014 Youth of the Year with a Crabtree’s Kittle House reception Tuesday, May 13.  About 90 Club members, staffers, donors, dignitaries, board members, and friends of the Club gathered to recognize Cristy Lopez-Duarte with the Club’s highest honor. The National Youth of the Year program, a Boys & Girls Clubs of America initiative, honors Club members for developing superior leadership skills, overcoming personal challenges, achieving academic excellence, and performing outstanding service to the Club and the community. The reception and dinner were generously hosted by BGCNW board member John Crabtree.

As a ten-year member of the Club, Lopez-Duarte, now 17, has shown outstanding dedication to BGCNW, her high school, and her community. Lopez-Duarte has volunteered more than 300 hours of services since 2011 and is president of Liberty Keystone, a teen group that provides opportunities to gain valuable leadership and service experience. The active Fox Lane High School junior also sits on the Principals Advisory Committee, is president of her Spanish Club, and plays and important role in planning the Multi-Cultural Week at Fox Lane. 

“As a young member of the Club, I was a follower, but I have learned to be a leader in the programs and activities I’ve participated in,” Lopez-Duarte said. “I could not imagine the kind of person I would be without this Club.”

Originally from Guatemala, Lopez-Duarte spoke of disappointments and tragic moments in her life, living as an undocumented citizen, and her eventual discovery of the Immigration Reform Act, which now allows her to work, drive, and apply for college scholarships in the U.S.

“Being in the country undocumented guarantees obstacles,” Lopez-Duarte said. “I remember first coming to the Club. I was four years old in a new place in a new country … I didn’t know the language and I didn’t have any friends. The Club made it easy to adapt.”

On behalf of County Executive Rob Astorino, BGCNW Board President R. Todd Rockefeller presented proclamations to Lopez-Duarte, each of the three Youth of the Year finalists – Nethmi DeSilva, Akilah Figueroa, and Isaiah Figueroa – and Chris Cutri Award recipient, Justique Carter.

Carter, a Fox Lane freshman, was honored Tuesday with the Chris Cutri Award. This award memorializes Cutri, the son of BGCNW director of operations, Barbara Cutri, and recognizes positive attitude, perseverance, kindness, and integrity. At the 2014 Youth of the Year reception, Carter spoke of her baby brother’s diagnosis of cancer and how she felt “alone and trapped.”

“My Boys & Girls Club’s love was just as tender as my grandma’s, their hugs just as tight as my mother’s. The Boys & Girls Club gave me hope,” Carter said. “I learned to be a believer and a fierce fighter – and fight with my brother.”

Lopez-Duarte will compete in the N.Y. State Youth of the Year competition in Albany on Monday, May 19. Lopez-Duarte will also be honored as the BGCNW’s Youth of the Year at the 2014 Humanitarian Award Dinner Saturday, June 7 at Lexus of Mt. Kisco. 

The Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester is located at 351 Main Street, Mt. Kisco, NY and can be reached at (914) 666-8069 or by visiting www.bgcnw.com. For the latest news, photos and updates, please "like" the Club on www.facebook.com/BGCNWand follow on www.twitter.com/BGCNW.