Local Boys and Girls Club teen director becomes finalist for national award
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on March 15, 2018 9:29 PM
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Raytrell Caldwell watches over Gamelah Jordan, 11, and Christa Sanders, 12, Wednesday as they complete their homework at the Boys and Girls Club of Wayne County. Caldwell works with children as a coach, mentor and sometimes lends an ear to those in need.
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Raytrell Caldwell talks to a group of kids at the Boys and Girls Club of Wayne County Wednesday about organizing rides for them to get to an upcoming game. Caldwell, who started out as a volunteer football coach, is now a full time employee and one of five finalists for Youth Development Professional MVP through the Boys and Girls Club of America.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Wayne/Johnston counties learned this week that it is one of five finalists in the nation vying for the Youth Development Professional of the Year award.
The local submission in the contest, a two-minute video, nominated Raytrell Caldwell, teen director at the Royall Avenue club.
Boys and Girls Club of America created the award through a nationwide contest to highlight the impact club staff members have on young lives. One hundred submissions poured in from around the country before being whittled down to the top five.
Now it's up to the public to vote Caldwell through to a win, said Jacqueline Kannan, development director for the Wayne/Johnston clubs.
"What we need is our community to come together," she said. "The winner's going to be determined by the number of votes.
"We're asking anybody that is a supporter of the Boys and Girls Clubs, that has seen what we're trying to do, anybody who knows Raytrell, anybody that comes to the club."
Online voting takes place March 15 through 25, she said. Visit the club's website at www.bgcwaynejohnston.org to view the local video or go directly to the site at https://youtu.be/l1HmEA-ktsM. To watch the semi-finalist videos, visit www.BGCA.org.
There are some impressive prizes on the line for the honor, organizers say -- including $10,000 to the winning club and a trip to New York for the winner and a guest to see "The Iceman Cometh" starring Denzel Washington.
"We have already got a $2,000 award for our club for being a finalist," Kannan said. "There's a lot of excitement around the club. The teens who were in the video were extremely excited."
The two-minute video features a good representation from the local club, from teen testimonials and comments from Caldwell to a large cheering section made up of the younger members.
For Kannan, she said the exposure also serves as an opportunity to remind people about the work done at the club.
"There's been a lot of conversations in our community lately about how to combat these problems of poverty, high poverty rates, high crime, declining middle class, and the solutions that I keep hearing from our elected officials and our thought leaders here in the community are that you need to work with the children," she said. "We've been doing that for over 70 years -- we're one of the longest standing organizations in the county that has done that.
"I think it really highlights the work that we do and it helps the people who support the Boys and Girls Club see that we are still continuing to do that mission every day."
It's not just about a safe place to be after school, she said, although statistically that helps reduce crime. It is also about that relationship between the youth served and the professionals that serve in the club.
Youth development professionals working in clubs around the country are a key part of the organization, said Mary Ann Dudley, executive director of the four clubs in Wayne and Johnston counties.
"They are the ones that are working side by side with our youth as mentors, teachers, coaches and friends," she said. "This contest is a great way for us to recognize all of the hard work and dedication that these professionals provide to the youth who visit our clubs every day."
Dudley hired Caldwell to the position in 2013. But his efforts began long before that.
Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Caldwell moved to Goldsboro in 2001, when he was 21. He was contracted to do a job on base and was drawn to becoming a volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club after driving past it every day.
"I saw that they were asking for volunteer coaches," he said, which was in line with his own passion for sports.
He wound up volunteering for eight years before the teen director job came open.
His passion for working with youth goes beyond coaching or helping them with homework. It's about the relationships he is able to forge, he says.
"I'm just blessed," he said Tuesday. "I joke sometimes with my peers or my family that God put me in this position for a reason."
Being nominated for the national award is a "humble blessing," says the father of three children -- Raytrell Jr., 16, Jaylin, 14, and Zoey, 6.
Other finalists for the award come from much larger communities, Kannan said, but still may be no match for the support found in Wayne County. She encourages everyone who has ever attended the local clubs or is aware of the impact it has on behalf of children, youth and families, to go online and cast a vote each day during the contest period.
The four other finalists include Boys and Girls Clubs in Denver, Colorado, Venice, California, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Greater Kansas City, Missouri.