Boys & Girls Clubs alumni are found in all walks of life. National alumni include everyone from sports figures Shaquille O'Neal and Lou Piniella, to singers Jennifer Lopez and Smokey Robinson, to business leaders such as General Wesley Clark (former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe U. S. Army, retired), and Senator George Mitchell (Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader.) Check out the entire Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame.

We're looking for alumni! Know someone in the Denver area who used to be a Boys & Girls Clubs member? Contact kalenl@bgcmd.org.

Rich Barrows was kicked out of his Rapid City, SD Boys Club at age 14. Two years later, he was hired at the same Club as a youth worker. Rich originally joined Boys Clubs for two reasons—to escape home life and to get involved in sports.

After going to college and earning a Civil Engineering degree, Rich returned to work with the Boys Clubs. His work at Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver is more than a job—it’s a mission. He believes in giving to others the opportunities he had as young person.

Rich is the director of the Denver Broncos Boys & Girls Club. June 12, 2008 marked his 32nd anniversary with the Clubs, although he says he has never really worked a day in his life because he truly enjoys going to work every day.

This photograph was taken at the grand opening of the Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center. Cary Lukes (left), the 1978 Amarillo, TX Youth of the Year, is pictured with Rich Barrows (right.)

Bernadette Torres was the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver 2003 Youth of the Year. She first joined BGCMD when she was just nine years old, as a member of the Robert M. Steele Club, which was also a place to take her three younger siblings. She was active in sports and in Torch and Keystone leadership clubs.

In 2007, Bernadette graduated from Colgate University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology, Sociology, and Native American Studies, where she ended her final semester on the Dean’s list. She is now the Education Specialist at the Shopneck Club in Brighton and she says that it’s fascinating to see how BGCMD works, as it helped shape and build her character.

This picture is Bernadette along with her brother, Dylan (left), the Shopneck Club's Senior Youth of the Year for 2008, and Kenji (right), the Club's Junior Youth of the Year, at the annual gala.

Immediate Results

Long-term Influence

Impact