JOINT BASE SAN ANOTNIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
The Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Youth Programs’ Keystone Club is dedicated to community service, engaging in projects that benefit the homeless, the elderly and other often-forgotten members of the community.
This month the organization composed of high school students is focusing its efforts on helping its peers.
Keystone members are participating in a Jeans for Teens clothing drive, decorating and placing collection boxes at five JBSA-Randolph locations: two at Youth Programs, one each at the two Child Development Program locations and one at the main chapel annex.
“Jeans for Teens is a community service project that allows members of our Keystone Club to give back to the community by helping others in need,” said Andrea Black, JBSA-Randolph Youth Programs coordinator and Keystone Club sponsor
The collection drive, which coincides with Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, provides gently used jeans for children 18 years old and younger who are living at a local facility that is meeting the needs of young victims of abuse, neglect, abandonment or family disruption
The club is also addressing teen dating violence by discussing topics such as building supportive healthy relationships and how to recognize unhealthy relationships and actions to take during its February meetings.
In addition to providing jeans for teens during the month, the club is expanding its service efforts by collecting other articles of clothing and household items for others in need.
The Keystone Club has participated in Jeans for Teens for almost 10 years, Black said. The club chose jeans because it’s an article of clothing that teenagers like to wear.
“More than a million young people experience homelessness in the United States every year,” she said. “The one item they often request is a pair of jeans.
Jeans are also practical and versatile.
“Jeans are the perfect item to donate,” Black said. “They can be worn multiple times between washes, can be dressed up or dressed down, and provide a sense of normalcy to the person wearing them."
Black called Jeans for Teens an “enlightening” project for the club.
“They see the impact of it when they deliver the jeans,” she said. “The children who receive the jeans see it as a true blessing
Ryann Jackson, Keystone Club president, said Jeans for Teens is a worthwhile cause.
“A lot of kids are less fortunate than we are; they can’t afford a pair of jeans,” said Ryann, a 17-year-old senior at Randolph High School. “When they are given a nice pair of jeans, it shows them that people actually care for them.
Dayondre Williams, Keystone Club vice president, said Jeans for Teens benefits members and the recipients of the club’s outreach
“It’s a very important project for us because it gives us an opportunity to donate clothes to teens like us,” he said.
Williams, also a 17-year-old senior at Randolph High School, said he enjoys all of the club’s community service projects, whether it’s Jeans for Teens or visiting local nursing homes and interacting with the residents.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of America started the Keystone Club as a leadership program more than five decades ago. Community service is one way to develop that trait.
“We take community service very seriously,” Jackson said. “Although we have busy lives as teenagers, we’re still able to find the time to give back to the community and make the world a better place. We need more of that, especially now.”