Despite Nationwide Giving Down Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast Help 5500 Children Annually

The Boys & Girls Club of the Suncoast offers a safe and structured environment for 5,500 children annually, but there are 100,000 more teens in Pinellas County who need help.  Originally founded in 1959, the BGCS has provided a positive place where every child can participate, regardless of race, religion or financial situation and no child is ever turned away for the inability to pay.  With total giving down 5.7% across the country the BGCS is calling upon some of its staunchest supporters to dig deep at their upcoming 50th Anniversary Celebration on January 30, 2010 at the Sirata Beach Resort. The event will raise much needed money to fund scholarships at each of their eleven clubs.

An original piece of artwork donated by the renowned Slovak American glass sculptor and entrepreneur, Dale Chihuly, is to be auctioned off during the event.  Chihuly created and signed the unique piece to celebrate the BGCS 50th Anniversary.  Chihuly’s work is included in over 200 museum collections worldwide. 

Long-time supporters of BGCS, the Nicklaus and Sokolowski families, will be recognized at this year’s event.  

BGCS has a growing stable of smaller supporters in the community and welcome volunteers, donations and the like from those that want to contribute.  For more information about the Boys & Girls Club of the Suncoast, visit www.bgcsuncoast.org and for more information about the event, visit www.begroovy.org or call (727) 459-6461.

About the Boys & Girls Club of the Suncoast:

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America movement came to Pinellas County in November 1959 with the founding of the Boys Club of Pinellas Park by Police Chief Maurice L. MacTarsney and Margret “Peg” Nunn.  The Club began operating in January 1960 in an old frame building leased from the City of Pinellas Park with its 1st executive director, James S Hart Jr.  The Boys Clubs of Pinellas, Inc. was chartered in August 1967 when its second club opened at the Northside location in St. Petersburg.  In May 1970, at the urging of both the United Way and the Boys Clubs of America, the Boys Clubs of Pinellas County, Inc. was organized.  In 1991, the Boys Clubs of Pinellas County opened its programs to all youth, forming Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast (BGCS), as we know it today, now with eleven locations.  BGCS under the leadership of Carl R. Lavender, Jr. has the goal “to influence the behavior and the attitudes of each individual boy and girl in a wholesome manner.”  The sole purpose of BGCS is to provide children, youth, their families and the community opportunities for safe, structured, well supervised after school and summer youth programs, with an emphasis on leadership, education and self sufficiency.  The organization has proven its commitment to service for children and community members with innovative and progressive programming and opportunities.  Supporters of Boys & Girls Clubs include government politicians, law enforcement agency representatives, financial institutions, and education boards, among other concerned citizens.  To find out more or to help, visit http://www.bgcsuncoast.org/.

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