Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast will be celebrating their 51st anniversary at the annual BE GROOVY TOO gala to be held on January 29th. This event serves as a fundraiser for the non-profit which provides after-school and summer programs to young people living in Pinellas County, especially those who need them most. As the event draws near, community leaders and corporations are ensuring the continuation of the organization’s quality programs through selfless donations.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Jim Coats have reached the fundraiser’s top donation level by generously giving $50,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast event, citing the fact that Boys & Girls Clubs programs keep children off of the streets and out of jail. Sheriff Jim Coats, a long-standing Corporate Board Member, has described the organization as, “crime prevention at its best!”
Other sponsors include the Sirata Beach Resort, Synovus Bank, Bright House Networks, Publix Super Market Charities, Southern Wine & Spirits, LEMA Construction, Lifestyle Family Fitness, Lucas Productions, Raymond James Financial, Stratix Financial, Cutting Edge Granite, the Dawkins Family, DEX Imaging, the Gills Family, Gregory, Sharer & Stuart, the Maguire Family, Progress Energy, Rays Baseball Foundation, TECO Peoples Gas, and Wachovia Wells Fargo.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast will honor their 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 should contact Carla Mattern at (727)-524-2427x17 or visit www.bgcsuncoast.org
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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