Toyota and The Boys & Girls Clubs of America are combating  the current dropout crisis by forming a partnership, which launched Thursday, April 5 2012 to assist in the funding of youth education locally and nationally.

This celebration of education took place at Bowie State University with Maryland Governor, Martin O’Malley, former LA Lakers star, A.C. Green, who is a Boys & Girls Club alum, and more than 150 local Boys & Girls Clubs kids from Baltimore and DC on site.

At this event, students signed a pledge wall where they promised to go to college, “Toyota has a long standing commitment to our communities. We are very excited about the program we launched today “Diplomas to Degrees,” where we are providing a $1.5 million grant over three years to help provide tools, resources and support to Boys & Girls Clubs to better prepare teens to move from high school to college graduates,” explained Toyota Financial’s Vice President in Sales, Marketing, and Product planning, Mike Groff.

Through this partnership, Toyota associates will also volunteer as mentors and college coaches through local Boys & Girls Clubs in the region every year

Also at the event Toyota donated a new Toyota Sienna van to The Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore and Greater Washington combined efforts to create a combined children's choir for a performance with the Darin Atwater's Soulful Symphony under the direction of award winning composer and playwright Tony Small. "Soulful Symphony is unlike any performance group on the planet. They have literally created a whole new way of conceiving American music for the orchestra and voice." Club youth have only had 2 weeks to prepare for the performance of Mr. Atwater's "Little People" movement to much acclaim. This collaboration launches an ongoing partnership to expose club youth to world class performances and artists.

Members from the James D. Gross Marching band members will teach younger youth at the CC Jackson Recreation Center- Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore drumming techniques for the HOP Drum-A-Long, a unique event themed to the DVD release of Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE) movie, HOP. The animated movie features cute bunny E.B. (Russell Brand) who is the teenage drum playing son of the Easter Bunny. He wants to follow his dreams to become a rock star instead of taking over the family business.

The youth members of the band will give elementary age children at the Club a free drum playing lesson on Friday, March 16. The CC Jackson Boys and Girls Club members will get to keep the HOP drumsticks, other movie themed materials and they will end their class by performing with the band.

The public is invited to attend the 5 p.m. HOP Drum-A-Long performance of “I Love Candy” from the movie’s soundtrack at the CC Jackson Recreation Center-Boys and Girls Club, located at 4910 Park Heights Avenue in Baltimore. The Park Height’s Boys and Girls Club, opened in 2007, in partnership with Baltimore City Department of Recreation & Parks, is looking forward to hosting the free drum lessons.

HOP is a family-friendly movie available on DVD on March 23. Visit www.iwantcandy.com

"Diamonds on the Rise" had their first Benefit Fashion Show at the Webster Kendricks Boys and Girls Club on January 14th.   Diamonds on the Rise has been partnering wth the Westport Boys and Girls Club, offering dance and step classes to the girls of BGCMB.