Upstate Young Marines Named Unit Of The Year

The Young Marines, a national youth organization, announced the “2018 National Unit of the Year” – Upstate Young Marines of Greenville, South Carolina, under the command of SgtMaj James Roberts, Jr., (USMC Ret.), of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The announcement was made May 12, at the annual Adult Leaders Conference held in San Antonio, Texas.

The Young Marines is a national youth education and service program for boys and girls, ages 8 through completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral, and physical development of its members. The program focuses on character building, leadership, and it promotes a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

“The Upstate unit has demonstrated the stellar qualities needed to be named the 2018 National Unit of the Year," said Col William P. Davis USMC (Ret), national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. "This unit embodies all that best represents our program - from community service to Red Ribbon Week; from veterans’ appreciation to living and promoting a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. We are very proud of the entire team at Upstate. They are having an amazing impact on their community.”

The Young Marines organization is divided into six divisions across the United States. Each Young Marine unit is led and guided by adult volunteers. Annually, one unit is selected from each division. From these six winners, one is named the official “National Unit of the Year.”

“Our unit serves our surrounding communities by staying actively involved as volunteers through many events and activities,” Commander Roberts said. “In addition, we support many a worthy cause such as reaching out to kids with our strong support of a healthy and drug-free lifestyle.”

Upstate Young Marines helped the Greenville Literacy Association raise funds through its book sale drive. The youth members help customers load and unload purchased books, making the experience easier especially for the elderly and mothers.

The members presented the Color Guard for the Greenville Annual Textile Heritage Festival. For more than ten years, the unit has supported Toys for Tots, projects to feed the homeless, and school activities such as the Fall Festival, Veteran’s Day school singing, and school Wellness Day.

“The members love to take advantage of opportunities at school celebrations and events to represent our program and spread the word about our goals,” Commander Roberts said.

Encouraging a healthy drug-free lifestyle is a vital focal point of the unit. During the past year, the Upstate Young Marines gave 20 anti-drug presentations to schools and various youth organizations, obtained 15 Red Ribbon Week proclamations, along with resolutions from Senator Rex Rice and Representative David Hiott. In addition, they hosted a 5K Dash in honor of Red Ribbon Week awareness.

Another important focus of the Upstate Young Marines is to support America’s heroes overseas and to honor veterans. The unit members help with the Blue Star Mothers’ project, and they take part in events such as the South Carolina Veterans Upstate Salute, Honor Flights, the Fellow Countrymen Homeless Veterans Project, and various Veteran’s Day programs.

“It gives me great joy to see the members succeed in reaching challenging goals,” Commander Roberts said. “I enjoy helping to shape our youth to become strong leaders who uphold the values instilled in them through the Young Marines program.”

The Upstate Young Marines has 58 active Young Marines and 18 adult volunteers. The unit meets at the Navy Marine Corps Reserve Center, 669 Perimeter Rd., Greenville, South Carolina. For more information visit: https://www.upstateyoungmarines.org

About the Young Marines

The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501c (3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age eight through the completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members. The program focuses on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork and self-discipline, so its members can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

Since the Young Marines' humble beginnings in 1959 with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to 270 units with 9,000 youth and 2,600 adult volunteers in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Okinawa with affiliates in other countries.

For more information, visit the official website at: http://www.YoungMarines.com.