North Carolina Woman Recognized As Extraordinary Volunteer

The Young Marines named Melanie Foster the Adult Volunteer of the Year for Division 2. She is the unit commander of the Swansboro Young Marines from Swansboro, North Carolina. The unit meets at 246 VFW Rd, Swansboro.

The Young Marines is a youth education and service program for boys and girls, age 8 through high school graduation. 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.

Division 2 includes Washington D.C. and six states: Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Each Young Marine unit is led and guided by adult volunteers. There are more than 2,100 adult volunteers with the organization. Annually, one adult volunteer is selected from each of six divisions for “Division Volunteer of the Year.”

“Melanie’s passion and determination really stand out in all she has done for her unit as well as for the organization,” said Col William P. Davis USMC (Ret), national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. "She is a dedicated mentor and teacher, reflecting all the best traits of our volunteers.”

Swansboro Young Marines have participated in many community service efforts such walking path and beach clean-ups. The unit helps the local VFW on any occasion possible, and it works to make both organizations successful. The unit held a Veterans Appreciation dinner and donated most of the proceeds to the VFW that hosts the unit. Adult volunteers with the program make history more real by taking the youth members to places like the ramparts at Ft. Macon and participating in the Pearl Harbor activities in Oahu.

“We have worked to foster camaraderie and cooperation with the other units in our regiment and beyond,” Foster said. “I volunteer as much as possible at every level. I love this program and am a very vocal advocate for all it teaches both our youth members, as well as our adults.”

For more information about Swansboro Young Marines, visit: https://youngmarines.org/unit/swansboro/page or call Unit Commander Melanie Foster at 910-240-5889.

About the Young Marines

The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age eight through high school graduation. 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 more than 238 units with 6,100 youth and 2,100 adult volunteers in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Japan, and affiliates in a host of other countries.

For more information, visit the official website at: https://youngmarines.org.