"Greatness is not a function of Circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline." — Jim Collins

I have just returned from our Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Conference in San Francisco, and I'm energized and hopeful for the future.

Roxanne Spillet, Boys & Girls Clubs of America president, inspired us with a story of a teen girl on the brink of failure.

Evelyn Santiago was headed down the wrong path and moving fast: a 1.0 grade-point average, zero ambition, no role models. She seemed more likely to drop out of school than apply to college. But her destiny was about to be changed by a Boys & Girls Club CEO who decided to do something about the 50 percent dropout rate in his community.

Mike Lansing started a college-bound program to give his kids the support they needed to succeed in school. In the first year, there were only four youths.

Today, 130 club members are enrolled. They have the support and encouragement of a determined, caring staff; their SAT scores are going up; they're finishing high school; and 86 percent have gone on to college.

After a lot of encouragement and hard work, Evelyn began to believe in herself. She wanted to do well in school, graduate, and go to college.

With the staff's support, she improved her grades and raised her aspirations. With some trepidation, she sent off six college applications.

She waited nervously for that one letter that could change her future and her life. Finally, letters began arriving from admissions officers in the CSU system, six in all. Evelyn was six for six.

Today, Evelyn is finishing her freshman year at CSU Sonoma, and when she is home, she's volunteering in the college-bound program at the Boys & Girls Club.

Change begins with all of us

Our country cannot succeed if the Evelyns cannot make it out of high school and into college. The consequence of dropping out is not just an unproductive life, but often one behind bars. It is documented that 70 percent of people in prison do not have high school diplomas.

We need to reject the idea that the challenges we face are for others to fix. We cannot allow anyone, or anything, to steal the future of our children.

Our commitment

We believe it's possible to make an impact on everyone in our organization. But it will require a commitment that says:

• We will create a culture at the Boys & Girls Club that makes high school graduation a universally accepted goal and college/vocational school a bridge to a better life.

• We will initiate partnerships, with schools, public and private agencies and families, creating a support network for every child.

• We will seek out young people at risk of dropping out of school, who have difficulty reading, who are truant, and who are failing. We must do so early because 62 percent of those who drop out of school are gone by the end of 10th grade.

• We will keep fun alive, build assets and surround our kids with adults who care about them and have high expectations of them.

• We will help kids visualize that they can go to college through various experiences like campus visits and help them apply to schools and secure scholarships.

• We will track their success and show our community that we can make a difference.

The challenge and call to action

We need everyone to rally and engage with us. We need volunteers and investors today so that another generation of Evelyns does not get lost and forgotten. For more information on how you can help, call 815-4959 or go to http://www.positiveplace4kids.org.