Although Loudoun Youth Inc. recently had to replace its executive director and is facing county funding cuts under the current budget crisis, its leadership and supporters remain committed to providing the wide range of service to county youth that it has in the past.
Leading the effort is Carol A. Kost, of Ashburn, who has served as LYI’s president since 2005. Previously, Kost served as the chairman of the Loudoun county Advisory Commission on Youth, stating in 1999. “One job kind of grew into the other,” she said recently. Kost is the mother of two children who attend Eagle Ridge Middle School.
Key to the success of LYI in 2009-10 is its upcoming fundraiser, the Second Annual Loudoun Youth Invitational Charity Golf Tournament, to be held on Monday, May 18 at the Club at Creighton Farms–formerly known as the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club– near Aldie. The recent purchase of golf club and surrounding property by Southworth Development Company will not necessitate any change in the group’s plans, as the general manager that worked with LYI in 2008 has returned to manage the club under Southworth’s ownership. “Everything is a go,” said Kost.
This year’s partner in the tournament is For Children’s Sake of Virginia, a child-placing agency providing therapeutic/treatment foster care and adoption services to children ages birth to 21 years.
The event was fully subscribed last year, and many of last year’s foursomes are returning, according to Kost. The 2008 event raised about $200,000 for LYI. However, with less than two months until the event takes place, reservations for 18 Charter Team foursomes–at $20,000 each–were at the halfway point.
“The Creighton Farms Club features and exemplary Jack Niklaus Signature Golf Course, and the opportunity to be a Charter Team for this event is strictly limited,” according to the tournament invitation. “Each foursome will be recognized for its exceptional contribution to our community, and those playing for the first time in 2009 will become Charter Teams.”
The day will begin with registration and breakfast with celebrity guests, followed by a shotgun start at 11 a.m. for each Charter Team at its sponsored hole. Following the tournament, there will be a cocktail reception and awards presentation, and then the awards dinner featuring nationally known entertainer “Buzz” Sutherland.
At the conclusion of the 2008 Loudoun Youth Invitational Charity Golf Tournament, students from Heritage High School sang for the players as they came in from the links. Photo courtesy of LYI.
Projects & Programs from Loudoun Youth Initiative
In 2008, LYI provided $93,000 in grants to a wide range of organizations and groups involved with youth activities in Loudoun, from $500 to an “Odyssey of the Mind” project at a county middle school to $30,000 in support of Dulles South Youth Sports, which was LYI’s partner in the 2008 tournament. Other significant grants went to the boys and Girls Club of Loudoun and the Loudoun Youth Fest held last year at Belmont Country Club, which received $20,000 each.
In addition to supporting efforts like the Boys and Girls Club of Loudoun, LYI advocates for other after-school programs that provide young people with worthwhile activities in the trouble-prone hours between when the school day ends and working parents get home to take over supervision. LYI refers those interested in seeing those programs continue in Loudoun County to their Website, www.loudounyouth.org, or to www.keepyas.blogspot.com.
Another serious future initiative is the Youth Conference on Peace and Stability, to be held in Loudoun County during the summer of 2010. “LYI recently started working with local teens on program to engage youth from around the world in dialogue,” said Kost. “In partnership with the World Trade Center Dulles Airport, LYI is developing a program creating social and economic bonds between people from diverse cultures and economies,” according to the LYI Web site. More information is available at www.wtyi.org.
When asked what drives her involvement with LYI, Kost replied, “I have been blessed to work with these teenagers; they have been awesome. They are really on top of things, and can get things done.”
She notes that a former Loudoun County student that she worked with has completed the requirements for a master’s degree in International Relations, and has asked to work with her on the WTYI conference next year. “After awhile, it’s like having an extended family,” said Kost. “Especially when they stay in touch, and you learn about the things they’ve accomplished.”
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