Ever Forward Club Celebrates 21 Years with
Community Dance-A-Thon
The Ever Forward Club recently marked an exciting milestone: 21 years of positively impacting the community. To celebrate this incredible journey, the organization hosted its 21st Annual Community Celebration, featuring a lively Dance-A-Thon.
Nearly 100 community members came out to enjoy the free event, held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., joining throughout the day to dance, socialize, and celebrate together. The atmosphere was filled with joy, laughter, and the unmistakable energy of a community coming together.
Beyond the music and dancing, the event offered engaging activities such as a community art table and mask-making stations. Attendees of all ages took part, expressing their creativity and connecting with one another in meaningful ways that reflect Ever Forward Club's core mission.
Funds raised from the celebration are dedicated to supporting the Young Men's Conference scheduled for this fall. This event will offer valuable resources, workshops, and mentoring experiences to young men, empowering them for brighter futures.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined the celebration, danced their hearts out, and supported our mission. Here’s to another remarkable 21 years ahead!
Check out the brief history and evolution of how we got here:
In 2004, when the Ever Forward Club was started at San Lorenzo High School, I was trying to encourage young men to do community service and it was clear to me that they had limited understanding of what community service looked like.
They thought community service looked like cleaning up the streets or a beach while wearing a bright vest.
So I reached into my bag of future plans and realized that the 24 Hour Relay Challenge was needed now.
So we began planning the 1st Annual 24 Hour Relay Challenge to happen May 2005 at San Lorenzo High School. And 50 couragous students signed up to walk or run for 24 Hours on a dusty track while camping on an old football fiend on a team of 10.
2005-2009: 1st-5th Annual 24 Challenge Relay (San Lorenzo HS)
2010-2013: 6th-9th Annual 24 Challenge Relay (Cal State East Bay)
2014-2019: 10th-15th Annual 24 Challenge Relay (Oakland Tech)
Early 2020, we began to plan for the 16th Annual 24-Hour Relay Challenge, and the COVID-19 pandemic changed all of our plans. We made a pivot to engage people around the Bay Area and around the world in completing 24 Challenges in 24 Hours. It was an amazing experience, and that Pivot would lead to a series of other event changes to keep the youth at the forefront of these events.
2020 – 16th Annual: 24 Challenge Relay
2021 – 17th Annual: 24 Challenges + 5K Walk/Run (LIVESTREAM)
2022 – 18th Annual: Community Challenge: 5K Challenge
2023 – 19th Annual: Community Challenge: 5K Challenge
2024 – 20th Annual: Community Challenge: 5k Walk/Run - Oakland High School
These annual community challenges have two purposes: first to bring youth and adults together to create stronger communities and secondly, to raise funds to support our youth facing work.
2025 – 21st Annual Community Challenge: Dance-A-Thon Costume Party (Jack London Square, Oakland, CA)
HERE’S A LINK TO A PLAYLIST OF ALL OF OUR PREVIOUS COMMUNITY CHALLENGES
So as we complete 21 years of doing this work, the Dance-a-Thon was envisioned by youth during our Social Emotional Leadership Academy and the most recent Young Men’s Conference as an event to engage even more youth and the entire community for Fun, Food, Friends, and creating amazing memories to keep us all moving Ever Forward.
All of the proceeds from our Dance-A-Thon will go directly to the supporting our Young Men’s Conference this fall!
You can support our Young Men’s Conference by donating today!