YMCA 21st Annual Achievers Banquet Is Coming June 7

WESTFIELD, NJ - The Westfield Area YMCA, in collaboration with the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA and Plainfield YMCA will host the 21st Annual Achievers Banquet on Friday, June 7, from 7 p.m. to 1 p.m. at The Westwood, 438 North Avenue in Garwood.

The evening will include a cocktail hour with live musical performances by students; dinner and dancing; an art auction and tricky tray. The tricky tray features over 20 items including offerings from Lord & Taylor, Plainfield Symphony, Kidoolo, Somerset Patriots and NY Broadway Tours.

At the banquet, graduating high school seniors, Achievers alumni and Connell Company scholarship recipients will be recognized with certificates distributed by Assemblywoman Linda Carter.

This year’s event features speakers and artists:

Keynote Speaker, Tobias Truvillion, is best known as an actor on In Contempt and Empire. He is also a film producer, philanthropist, inner-city youth mentor, advocate, and arts instructor.

Banquet Guest Artist, John Stanisci, is a Marvel/DC Comic illustrator who will auction his work to benefit the Achievers program. John has been a professional illustrator for over 18 years working for all the major comic book publishers drawing characters such as Spider Man, Batman, Catwoman, Superman, and The Hulk.

Positive Peer Pressure Speaker, Dean A. Scott, is co-founder of Cocoa Mocha Kids, an online social media resource page that reviews products for children of color. Ten-year-old Dean and mom Tasha are also the creators of The Mia London “Perfectly Perfect Pajama” Collection, the first pajama collection for children of color.

Proceeds of the 21st Annual Banquet will benefit the Achievers Program. To attend or support, please visit www.westfieldynj.org/programs/... or the Westfield Area YMCA Welcome Center at 220 Clark Street in Westfield. Ad Journal or vendor table submissions are due by May 31st. Individual or table tickets must be purchased by June 3rd.

The Westfield Area YMCA Achievers began 21 years ago as part of a national program focusing on college readiness, career development, leadership, life skills and mentoring for diverse high school students from Union County. The goal is to raise the academic standards of young people, expose students to diverse career options and inspire them to reach their goals. Achievers also participate in community service activities, celebrate their history, culture and traditions, receive college prep tutoring and essay assistance. This program is available at little or no cost to participants.

For inquiries about the banquet or how to otherwise support these leaders of tomorrow, contact Janice A. Carthens at 908-301-YMCA (9622) x227,jcarthens@westfieldynj.org or Nadya Lawrence at 908-301-YMCA (9622) x280,nlawrence@westfieldynj.org.

Achievers graduating high school in 2018 and Achievers who participated in the Kean Upward Bound program receive their certificates at last year’s Banquet.

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter by clicking here. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading our Apple iOS app here, or by visiting the Google Play store for the Android app here.