Club provides kids mentors and more

Tell us about your organization: • Mission:

To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to become productive, responsible, caring citizens.

• Services provided:

For more than 29 years, Boys & Girls Club of Benton County (www.bgcbentoncounty.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, we serve more than 3,000 young people throughout Northwest Arkansas through club membership, sports and community outreach. Clubs are located in

Bentonville, Rogers, Bella Vista and Pea Ridge. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical nonschool hours. We’re open from 2:30 to 7 p.m., allowing parents time to work and not have to rush to pick up their child. We feed every kid a hot meal (dinner) and a snack every day (over 100,000 meals were served last year). Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. Our tagline is “Great Futures Start Here,” and we truly believe that. It’s an amazing program.

As a side note, when we were shut down in April and May due to covid-19, we continued to provide meals to families in need.

We have served more than 17,000 meals since covid-19 began. We also distributed more than 300 activity packs to children to keep them busy at home, worked with the local food bank to deliver groceries to those who could not leave their houses, and created virtual learning exercises for our kids. Our staff is committed to our mission of serving the youth in our community, and we’re doing the best we can to fulfill that mission in the midst of the covid-19 crisis.

• Who is eligible?

All youth between the ages of 6 and 18 (grades K-12)

• How can services be accessed?

Apply for membership on our website at www.bgcbentoncounty.org/ register.

• What are your organization’s most pressing needs?

Monetary donations to help offset the increased costs of operating during the covid-19 crisis. Also, we are always in need of donations for operating and program supplies like sports equipment, cleaning supplies, office paper, office supplies (pens, colored pencils, etc.) and art supplies.

• Are there volunteer opportunities in your organization? What are they?

Normally we have a LOT of volunteer opportunities but with covid-19, we are restricting access to our buildings to essential personnel and members. With that said, volunteers have been essential to fulfilling our mission and have served to help the youth in many ways from helping with fundraising events, cleaning and updating our facilities, and leading information sessions on various topics including resume writing, job interview skills, etc.

• Why do you work or volunteer for a nonprofit organization? Do you have a personal connection to the mission? If so, what is it?

I have two teenage boys at home, and they are my life. I have been extremely fortunate in my life, and God has bestowed many blessings upon me and my family. I spent 20 years in the “for profit” sector and volunteered in various youth organizations for many years. I decided it was time to give back in a bigger way and was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to run this fantastic organization. I love my job and the mission. I truly believe we at the Boys & Girls Club are making a difference by helping the youth in our community.

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