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2023 All America City Award Event includes SWAG

Village of Wellington and the SWAG Program 
Named as a Finalist for the 2023 All America City Award Event

The 2023 All-America City Award recognizes communities that are working to improve the health and well-being of young people, with special attention to efforts that engage young people in this work. The 2023 award seeked to identify communities that are breaking down barriers to meaningful youth participation and enacting programs that will improve quality of life for youth, and, by extension, all members of the community. The winners are chosen following a presentation to a panel of judges during the weekend-long event. This year's event was held in Denver, Colorado. 

We were well and enthusiastically represented by a team of current high school SWAG students and recent SWAG graduates, members of Crowned Pearls of Wellington and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Alpha Alpha Upsilon Omega Chapter, and Village of Wellington staff, who have all worked hard to write, practice and perform the 10 minute presentation that will showcase the program.

SWAG: The Village of Wellington created Students Working to Achieve Greatness in 2017 to address the needs of underserved high school students in Wellington. The program supports rising juniors and seniors academically, as well as provides exposure to employment and social opportunities through mentorship and internships with community partners. As part of the SWAG program, the village partners with the Crowned Pearls of Wellington as the program’s sponsor. Since the SWAG program began in 2017, 250 students have completed the program and 71 students received internships. 100% percent of SWAG participants graduated from high school after completing the program and 80% of participants have gone on to attend a 4-year university.