2023 Promise Awards
The Promise Awards is World Federation of Youth Clubs program that honors and elevates youth and the work of youth development organizations around the world. Launched in 2021, this award program raises awareness about the importance of youth development organizations and professionals, highlights best practices in youth development around the globe, and shares stories of the creativity, courage, and resiliency of youth around the world.
The 2023 Promise Awards includes a virtual celebration event that will take place Wednesday, November 15th at 10am EST.
2022 Promise Awards
The 2022 Promise Awards was shared with a global audience on September 20, 2022. We recognized seven honorees and five honorable mentions in three categories: leaders, programs, and youth. Award recipients were selected from over 60 nominations from WFYC members around the globe. Honoree’s received video storytelling production, a professionally edited video about the recipient and their club, media training, guidance, and support to celebrate this news in their local community, and a grant to the club supporting their programs.
Watch the entire 2022 Promise Award Celebration here!
Promise Award Recipients and Honorable Mentions 2022
Rebecca Ampah
Leadership Pioneer Award
Dimitris Giannakakis
Leadership Excellence Award
John Lightfoot
Lifetime Leadership Award
STAR English Program
Education Impact Award
Sustainable Food Program
Health Program Impact Award
Annet
Youth Inspiration Award
Enock
Youth Changemaker Award
Abubakar Kinene
Petros Zoe Initiative, Uganda
Community Action Teams
Petros Zoe Initiative, Uganda
Elliot
Club de Niños y Niñas de Hidalgo, Mexico
Mariam Namulondo
Petros Zoe Initiative, Uganda
Andrea
Club de Niños, Niñas y Jóvenes de Venezuela, Venezuela
Promise Award Recipients 2021
Stephen Quansah
Leadership Pioneer Award
Vilma Calderon
Leadership Excellence Award
Education First Initiative
Program Innovation Award
Chadashah Teenage Pregnancy Center
Health Program Impact Award
Jireth
Youth Dream Big Award
Evans
Youth Inspiration Award
Marco
Youth Changemaker Award
Selection Committee
The 2023 Selection Committee will be Chaired by Gerald Mballe, who previously served on the 2022 committee.
Learn more about the 2023 Promise Award Selection Committee below.
Gerald Mballe
Alejandra Monroy
Dr. Bala Mulloth
Teresa Walch
Sponsorship Information
Sponsorship opportunities are available for the 2023 Promise Awards, for more information contact Kirk Dominick, kdominick@wfyc.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Promise Awards?
The Promise Awards are an annual celebration of leaders, programs and youth making a difference in their clubs and communities. In addition to the Promise Awards virtual event on November 15, 2023, the Promise Awards are a WFYC program that recognizes and supports youth club work of members around the world. Award recipients receive a grant to support their continued impact at the Club, as well as a special video storytelling production, and support from WFYC to share their story with the world.
How many awards are there in 2023?
The Promise Awards Committee will select 4 main award recipients and a number of honorable mentions for this year’s program. In the Leadership Category, the Committee will name 2 recipients: Volunteer Leadership Excellence and Staff Leadership Impact. In the Programs Category, there will be 1 Program Impact recipient. In the Youth Category, there will be 1 Youth recipient. Recipients of the 4 main Promise Awards will receive a $2,000 USD grant to their club to continue and expand their work. Those recognized with an honorable mention will receive a $500 grant.
Have there been any changes to the program since last year?
Nomination process and requirements are the same, however number of awards, benefits, and the celebration event has changed! WFYC recommends reading the 2023 Promise Awards program guide carefully. You can also learn more about the Promise Awards by attending this year’s virtual conference, Lead. Innovate. Collaborate. Register today for the virtual conference!
Contact admin@wfyc.org with questions.
What is the award process?
Applications will be reviewed by the Promise Awards selection committee, as nominations are reviewed and sent to the selection committee as they are received. Applicants may be asked to provide additional information after submitting their application, such as photos, detailed explanations, or other proof of accomplishments. Recipients will be contacted in Late July and will begin working with WFYC on event production, including recording a video for the event. Award recipients will be announced in November at the Promise Awards virtual celebration.
My organization received a Promise Award in a past year. Are we eligible to apply again in 2023?
Yes! All WFYC member organizations are eligible for Promise Awards in 2023, regardless of past recognition in the Promise Awards program.
When are nominations open?
Nominate a leader, program, or youth anytime between July 1 and July 31, 2023. Nominations received after 11:59 pm EDT on July 31 will not be considered in this year’s Promise Awards program. You can preview the nomination form and requirements starting June 1. WFYC encourages all nominators to prepare their nomination early!
Can my organization be nominated for more than one award?
Yes! Affiliates are encouraged to apply for more than one award to highlight all their outstanding nominees.
Can my organization apply for more than one award?
Yes! All our Affiliate members, no matter how big or small, make an impact. Affiliates are encouraged to apply for more than one award to highlight all their outstanding nominees.
Who can nominate a person or program for the Promise Awards?
Anyone from a WFYC member organization, including staff, volunteers, and youth can nominate a leader, program, or youth for a 2023 Promise Award. All nominators must notify the club’s leader about the nomination to ensure that your club knows that a person or program was nominated! WFYC will contact your Club’s leader in early August to confirm the names of individuals and programs nominated for the Promise Awards. If your club leader is a nominee, WFYC will not notify the leader of their nomination, but will contact the Board Chair or other members of the leadership team to ensure your Club is aware of the nomination.
How do I submit a nomination?
Visit the WFYC website between July 1 and July 31 to complete a short online form. Nominations must include information such as: the nominator’s contact information, the nominee’s contact information, details about the nominee and why they should receive a Promise Award, and supporting materials that demonstrate the nominee’s accomplishments. You can download a nomination preview form today to prepare your nomination now. WFYC recommends preparing your nomination early, and working with your team members to gather stories and supporting materials.
What information should I include in the nomination?
In addition to all required fields, strong nominations include clear examples and evidence of the leader, program or youth’s impact. Supporting materials look different for every individual person or program. In general, nominators should aim to submit a minimum of 5 photos, 1 or more videos, and 2 or more supporting examples of their impact, such as a newspaper article, blog or social media posts, or a story about their work written by a club staff or member.
How are the Promise Award recipients selected?
The Promise Awards recipients and honorees are selected by the Promise Awards Committee. The committee is a team of volunteers who review nominations and select the recipients and honorable mentions. The committee uses a rubric to assess each nominee’s unique story and application, considering factors like initiative, barriers, and the WFYC spirit of youth development. This year’s Promise Awards Committee is chaired by Gerald Mballe, who previously served on the 2022 Promise Awards committee.
How can I find out who is named a 2023 Promise Award recipient or honorable mention?
Attend the Promise Awards virtual celebration on Wednesday, November 15 at 10:00 am EST. Click here to share your contact information and be notified when registration is available.
Who can I contact for more questions?
Contact Tony Galvao, Program Operations Coordinator at tgalvao@wfyc.org or Abby Lemay, Vice President of Impact at alemay@wfyc.org
Teresa Walch
Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Senior Executive – Affiliate Relations
Teresa Walch is a Senior Executive with Boys & Girls Club of America. She has served in numerous roles both locally and nationally for over 22 years with the organization.
Prior to her Boys & Girls Club career Teresa served as a Finance Director for the Department of Defense AAFES Europe, a Juvenile Probation Officer, a Department of Defense Educator, and a Schools Officer for the Department of Defense Europe.
She has held numerous leadership positions within BGCA to include the Southwest Regional Vice President, National Vice President of Club Advancement & Specialized Services where she built out a new service delivery model for BGCA, served as the interim Safety Vice President and lead BGCA’s legacy leadership and recognition programs.
In her current role as Senior Executive of Affiliate Relations her focus is on innovative and impactful service delivery and design that supports quality improvement systems, practices, and processes to ensure sustainable, safe, engaging local organizations and partnerships that support priorities. She also serves as the Disaster Response leader for BGCA.
Her most recent partnerships focus on providing mental health education and resources to club affiliates that include Mental Health First Aid and BetterHelp, the world’s largest on-line counseling company. The BetterHelp partnership is seen as the one of the most impactful partnerships BGCA has ever created resulting in free counseling access for staff and club members across the U.S.
Teresa holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Education and a master’s degree in Human Relations. Teresa is passionate about developing people and teams. Her ability to design and motivate thriving team culture is what she is known for. Her team’s culture promotes innovation, nimbleness and aligns individual strengths and talents to design processes and systems that drive goals and outcomes for stakeholders. Teresa is an accomplished facilitator and a certified trainer. She believes in the power of people and has been blessed to be able to lead and empower others to positively impact the next generation.
Dr. Bala Mulloth
Bala is a globally oriented educator and entrepreneur who has lived and worked in Asia, Europe and North America. His focus areas are innovation and social entrepreneurship and he is currently an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He is also the Co-Founder and CEO of Hava, a materials science venture that creates advanced fabrics that help people breathe clean air.
He was formerly an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management at Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary and the Program Director of CEU’s experiential New York City MBA program.; a Visiting Faculty Fellow at the National Defense University; and the Senior Manager of New York University Tandon School of Engineering’s Office of Innovation Development, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship.
He holds a PhD in Technology Management from New York University Tandon School of Engineering.
Gerald Mballe
Special Olympics Unified with Refugees, Advisor
Gerald Mballe is Special Olympics’ first-ever Advisor for Unified with Refugees programme, helping further strengthen and expand the reach and impact of the initiative. Gerald was first introduced to the world of Special Olympics in 2015 in Turin, Italy as a legally resettled refugee, after fleeing Cameroon as an unaccompanied minor due to several attacks by Boko Haram. His trajectory since has been an inspiration fueled by hard work and a passion for inclusion, equality, and acceptance. His commitment to inclusive sports, and social inclusion worldwide, was captured by ESPN, highlighting his example as a Game Changer. His powerful intervention at the 2018 Special Olympics Refugee Forum in Amsterdam moved the renowned journalist David Eades, global reporter for the BBC, to recommend Gerald to become a Young Leader for Sport at the Service of Humanity, a platform created by Pope Francis that uses sport to drive our shared humanity across the world. Gerald has been involved in various engagements at global convenings to support the inclusion message including speaking at the FIGC Press conference during the European Football Week, Laureus Summit in Paris and finally participating at the AVAIL Project exchange visit to the UK (an EU-funded project). Gerald understood the need to ensure that the athletes of Special Olympics and migrant youth alike were prioritized by the international development sector, which motivated him to speak directly to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in early 2020 in Geneva, Switzerland. This occasion led to the development of an important new global partnership –a significant milestone for the Special Olympics movement. Gerald is the recipient of the International Sports and Culture Association Integration of Refugees Through Sport Role Model Award, the Beyond Sport 2021 Courageous Use of Sport Award, and recently was awarded a top artistic distinction by the UN Refugee Agency as part of the Youth with Refugees Art Contest. Gerald is currently studying Political Science and International Relations at Niccolò Cusano University and continues to be a Unified Partner for Special Olympics Italy.