The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast will celebrate their 51st anniversary in January of helping local youth achieve academic success, live healthy lifestyles, and become strong citizens with strong character. The Boys & Girls Club of America movement came to Pinellas County with the founding of the Boys Club of Pinellas Park by Police Chief Maurice L. McTarsney and other interested citizens. Since then, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast, as it became, has grown to 11 clubs all throughout Pinellas County and has established an enduring legacy.
Some of the notable moments in the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast history include:
· 1989 – Children exemplify good character by collecting funds for hurricane victims.
· 1991 – Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard donates $4,000 to the Southside Club.
· 2003 – Actress and St. Petersburg native Angela Bassett donates $50,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast through the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Tampa Bay.
· 2003 – Boys & Girls Clubs restore the historic Royal Theatre in St. Petersburg. This location becomes a Club where children can get exposure to art.
· 2004 – Matt Morton is named U.S. Presidential Scholar. The alumnus later becomes a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford.
· 2008 – Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast at PARC, the first Boys & Girls Club in the nation for children with disabilities opened.
· 2010 – Blaine Krauss becomes second Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast alumnus to be named U.S. Presidential Scholar
· 2010 – Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast serves 5,000 youth annually.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast will honor their golden anniversary and celebrate their accomplishments with the BE GROOVY TOO Event Fundraiser on January 29th at the Sirata Beach Resort St. Petersburg Beach from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Those interested must contact Carla Mattern at (727)-524-2427x17.
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 first 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 www.bgcsuncoast.org.
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