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The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program aims to help about 7,000 teenagers who may become high school drop outs and engage in drug use or gang violence. These troubled teens may also be exposed to the risk of abusive relationships.
Youth ChalleNGe began in 1993 by the Guard and since then more than 77,000 of those who have graduated from Youth ChalleNGe have gone back to school. They’ve earned GEDs, started their own careers, enrolled in college, or joined the military.
In order to showcase the program’s success, a number of state and federal officials, sports figures, defense leaders, corporate representatives, and performers were present at the National Guard Youth Foundation’s 2008 ChalleNGe Champions Gala.
 Miss America Kirsten Haglund, three-time Grammy winner Trisha Yearwood, and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. were all present at the gala which honored the five champions of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program.
In the JW Marriott ballroom, LTG H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said to the sold-out crowd, “If you ever attended a Youth ChalleNGe graduation, it's a religious, life-changing experience. It is truly amazing to watch the transformation that happens to these young men and women, and I am so proud that the National Guard, every year, grows the number of Youth ChalleNGe programs that we support. We run what, I think, is the best youth program in America, and we run it as a partner from the Department of Defense with the states that are out here tonight."
More than a 1,000 dinner guests listened to what the honorees had to say about Youth ChalleNGe and the opportunities it provides 16-18year old high school dropouts who want to start anew.
The honored leaders for this year included North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Washington Rep. Norm Dicks, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Thomas Hall, West Virginia Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Allen Tackett and Microsoft's Curt Kolcun.
Dole said "We know that studies and statistics indicate dismal prospects for those without a high school diploma. Fortunately, through the Youth ChalleNGge program, young people who experienced challenges are saying 'no' to becoming just another statistic. Instead they are saying 'yes' to a second chance, and they are turning their lives around."
The Officials referred to Dole as "a great advocate for both the National Guard and the Youth ChalleNGe Program since she joined the Senate. She recently received one the National Guard Associations' highest honors: the Charles Dick Medal. Last year, she sponsored a funding bill in the Senate that increased the national funding to allow four more ChalleNGe programs."
Tackett said, "This ChalleNGe program across America saves thousands of young kid's lives. It puts them back on the right track."
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