The East Valley Young Marines Unit meets
Tuesday evenings from 6-8:15 pm, at the
TRINITY BAPTIST CHURCH
2130 E. UNIVERSITY DR.
MESA, AZ 85203
Please visit us at your convenience to observe our Young Marines in action!
For more information, call our office at:
480-570-4032 or 602-518-0810
or send an E-mail to: frankwalger@aol.com or rashimel@msn.com
For further information about the Young Marines program worldwide,
please visit our National Website at:
www.youngmarines.com
History of the Young Marines
Brief Time line
| 1958 | A group of dedicated Marine Corps League members formed the Young Marines of Waterbury, Connecticut |
| 1960 | The original Waterbury unit had swelled from just a handful of boys to a first-class youth program numbering in excess of 300 youth. |
| 1975 | The program guidelines were changed to allow females to participate so that all youth could benefit. |
| 1980 | The Young Marines were granted the status of a youth educational organization. |
| 1993 | The U.S. Marine Corps officially recognized the Young Marines as the focal organization for their contribution to the Youth Drug Demand Reduction efforts. |
| 1995 | The Young Marine organization went international with the forming of units in Okinawa, Japan. |
| 2000 | Currently there are over 300 Young Marine units. Nationwide there are over 14,000 Young Marines and 2,200 adult volunteer staff members. There are 4 international units in Okinawa, Japan. |
Organization Background
In today's world, there are many opportunities for young Americans to be led astray into crime, drug use, poor academic performance, as well as other vices. In the Young Marines, peer pressure is exerted toward wholesome ends such as school work, sports, physical fitness and other school and community activities.
As part of the national effort to "stem the tide" of drug use, the National Defense Authorization Act of 1993 tasked the Secretary of Defense with the establishment of programs aimed at reducing the demand for illegal drugs. The U.S. Marine Corps' response was to officially recognize the Young Marines in July 1993, as the focal organization for the Marine Corps' contribution to Youth Drug Demand Reduction efforts. The East Valley Young Marines is an IRS approved 501c(3) tax exempt youth educational organization.
The Young Marine units are run by dedicated adult volunteers. Adult leaders are individually screened by the National Headquarters based on background information and recommendations provided with each person's registration.
Currently there are over 300 Young Marine units nationwide as well as 4 units in Okinawa, Japan. Internationally, there are over 14,000 Young Marine members and 2,200 adult staff volunteers. On the national level, the program consists of a National Director and 2 Assistant Directors.
