A gang lured 10-year-old Jose Ponce into its embrace by giving him money for candy and toys.

At 13, Selena Gonzalez, surrounded by drugs and gangs in her neighborhood, was ditching school and drinking before classes.

By the time Fernando Martinez turned 15, graffiti was an everyday thing.

You should see them now.

Gonzalez is an articulate and confident high school junior at Clovis West High School and CART. She hopes to become a crime-scene investigator.

Martinez, a McLane High senior, has turned his passion for art into stenciling and designing T-shirts.

And Ponce, a senior at Kings River High in Sanger, will head to college with a $3,000 scholarship after being named Youth of the Year by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County.

While politicians, police chiefs and community leaders try to figure out what to do about gangs and intolerable school dropout rates, the reality is that one of the answers already is here.

It's Boys & Girls Clubs, where Ponce, Gonzalez, Martinez and other youths get on -- or stay on -- the right track.

The nonprofit has five full-service clubs in the area with gymnasiums. Another eight are run out of apartments in public housing complexes.

With a staff of 40 full-time employees, about 300 volunteers and a budget of just $1.8 million, the clubs will serve 12,000 youngsters this year.

For many kids, the club is a place to play basketball, shoot pool or do homework. But for others, the club turns into family. They become friends with staff members. They develop leadership skills and mature into role models.

"The club isn't just a place to hang out after school or meet up with friends," says Gonzalez, a Pinedale club member. "It's a second home to me because of its amazing staff and atmosphere."

I met the eight finalists in the Youth of the Year competition last week and went home contemplating the good that could be done if every tough neighborhood and poor community in the Valley had a club.

Every year our state and federal governments spend countless dollars battling gangs and trying to convince kids to stay in school. I doubt any government program returns the bang for the buck that Boys & Girls Clubs do.

For a long time, we've asked schools to solve society's problems -- and this has been the wrong approach. Teachers can inspire students and help turn lives around. But their mission is to educate. No school counselor can spend as much time with a kid as a club director or assistant.

Moreover, kids are being pushed away from school sports with the over-emphasis on winning and all that comes with it: being forced to pick one sport, year-round practice and fundraising. The Fresno recreation department -- once a model for the nation -- has been bled to the bone. Youth that aren't serious athletes still need a place to play soccer, basketball, flag football and baseball. The club provides it -- and more.

"It's the relationships with the staff that ultimately are most meaningful for these kids," says Jim Holm, director of development for Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County.

With these positive relationships, kids learn the importance of making good choices and what to do in tough situations. And they come to emulate the behavior of other kids who are thriving.

As this political season ramps up, I'd like to hear from candidates who have the vision and know-how to help open and staff more Boys & Girls Clubs.

The seed money is there in various different government pots. For once, can't we invest in something that works instead of blowing more money on something that doesn't?